Soapbox: Even With The Arrival Of PS4 And Xbox One, I'd Still Pick The Wii U

Before we stumble headlong into what will surely be a touchy subject to some, allow me to clarify something. As many of you will be aware, Nintendo Life is but one third of a network of gaming-focused sites. Nestled in the bosom of a growing media empire, this site is flanked by Push Square (for Sony fans) and Pure Xbox (for Microsoft aficionados). While I am mainly involved with Nintendo Life on a daily basis, I have input in those other sites, too. That basically means that despite my ardent love of all things Nintendo, I occasionally need to dip my toe into Sony and Microsoft-flavoured waters — and that means owning systems which aren't produced by everyone's favourite Kyoto-based video game giant.

With that in mind, it was with some degree of excitement that I took possession of a shiny new PlayStation 4 console this week. Having decided that I would have to jump aboard the "next generation" bandwagon at some point, I picked Sony's machine as my platform of choice — at least initially. The console appeared to have the most going for it at this point in time, and Sony has done an excellent job of not shooting itself in the foot in the run-up to launch — a trick which rival Microsoft seemed to perform on an almost weekly basis until very recently.

There's nothing quite like the allure of new technology, and — as has been the case numerous times in the past with systems like the Mega Drive, SNES, N64, PlayStation, Saturn, Dreamcast and Wii U — I genuinely relished those opening moments where irksome packing is removed, cables are lovingly uncoiled and vital connections between television set and new console are forged.

However, what followed wasn't quite the extravaganza I had in mind. Yes, the PS4 is a lovely piece of tech, and yes, it clearly offers a solid platform for future gaming exploits, but as of now — December 2013 — I still don't think it makes a better purchase than the console which gets the most use in the McFerran household: the Wii U.

The first title I loaded up was Need for Speed: Rivals, which admittedly is a cross-generation title and therefore doesn't give the clearest indication of the PS4's raw power. What struck me first was the excruciatingly long load times; even with the game installed to the system's 500GB hard drive, the waiting time when switching between menus and racing is atrocious. The next issue was that the game didn't really look all that amazing — in fact, my wife was hard-pushed to tell the difference between this and the Wii U title Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Then there's the dismal frame rate, which is up and down like a bride's nightie — so much for the promise of 60 FPS gaming being standard in the next gen.

Next up was Knack, arguably not the best game in the PS4 stable but the one my son was most inclined to play. Putting aside the shallow gameplay for a moment, what struck me was the relatively drab visuals. Granted, the Wii U might struggle to replicate some of the vegetation detail in the forest levels, but there is precious little else that suggests this is running on a brand new piece of cutting-edge hardware. It's telling that my son — who hasn't been able to leave Super Mario 3D World alone for weeks — quickly grew bored.

With the family safely tucked up in bed I decided to load up Killzone: Shadow Fall — arguably the closest thing Sony has to a AAA exclusive on the console right now — to see if that would alter my dismal perceptions. Visually, it has moments that are truly breathtaking and the character models in particular are worthy of praise. However, I never felt as engaged in the action as I possibly should have done — not being the biggest FPS fan probably doesn't really help.

That leaves Resogun, a downloadable shooter which plays like a dream and looks amazing, but arguably could have been achieved just as effectively on the PS3. At the time of writing, Resogun is probably the game that has entertained me the most on PS4, but I'd be hard-pushed to claim it was worth spending £350 on just to play.

During these opening moments with Sony's hardware, my mind is drawn back to this time last year, when the Wii U was just beginning to thrill us with its unique delights. The launch line-up would undoubtedly be bettered in the months that followed, but I recall being genuinely enthralled by New Super Mario Bros. U, and the fact that Nintendo Land is still being played in our household speaks volumes for the quality of that vastly underrated outing. However, it's ZombiU which springs to mind the most; Ubisoft's title may not have been your traditional family-friendly Nintendo fare, but its incredible atmosphere, gripping gameplay and inventive use of the GamePad made it my Wii U launch title of choice. Nothing I've played on the PS4 has come close to reaching the same level of enjoyment — at least not yet, anyway.

Some of you reading this might suggest that the reason for my disenchantment with my new purchase has more to do with flimsy fanboy allegiances than anything else, but I can assure you that isn't the case. I've been trying to put my finger on it for the past few days, and I think it all boils down to how much a new generation can impress. Historically speaking, consoles launch with their weakest games. Granted, there are exceptions — Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 being two — but usually, the titles which hit a system first are the ones which have had the least development time and don't benefit from the improved programming and graphical tools which come later on in a system's lifespan. As such, the games available on the PS4 right now do not show it running at its full potential — that is a given.

However, I also think these two new consoles are struggling to impress us because the leap from current-gen just isn't striking enough. Consider the moment when you first saw a game running in glorious high definition — it was like night and day compared to standard def. The Wii U has benefited from this jump, and as a result Nintendo fans are still dazzled by the prospect of Mario running in crisp clarity on their whopping 46-inch plasma TVs. However, with some next-gen titles on PS4 and Xbox One struggling to achieve true 1080p, things are less noticeable. There has been no similar "HD leap" this generation — presumably the next time that will happen is when games consoles support 4K resolution television sets, which won't be until the next cycle comes along. The absence of a gob-smacking visual upgrade — coupled with a rather average selection of launch titles — is probably to blame for my rather downbeat impression of "next generation" gaming. Do I regret purchasing a PS4? Not really, as I know full well that a games console is an investment which pays back in years rather than weeks.

However, if I wasn't a video game journalist and was having to make that difficult choice of which console to pick this Christmas, I'd be echoing what The Financial Post and TIME have both said recently: the Wii U is the only real choice. It has some amazing titles — possibly not as many as we'd like, but still more than its rivals — and it's cheaper than both the PS4 and Xbox One. That situation could potentially change as more titles are pushed to Sony and Microsoft's fledgling systems, but in my humble opinion, any household which isn't ringing to the Super Mario 3D World theme tune this festive season is missing out, big time.

Have you had chance to sample either the PS4 or Xbox One? Are you blown away by the graphical difference, or, like Damien, do you feel that the leap just isn't obvious enough at this moment in time? If you had to pick one home console this Christmas, which would it be? Be sure to vote in the poll below and post a comment to tell us your thoughts.

Do you think the PS4 and Xbox One offer the technological leap that has been promised by their makers? (645 votes)

Yes - the visuals are obviously better, and the additional power will make for more impressive games

12%

Maybe - the visuals might not seem to be much better now, but the games will improve over time

30%

No - From what I've seen, the visual upgrade isn't great enough and gameplay seems to be much the same

54%

I don't have an opinion either way

From the web

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

You're comparing a new console to a console which has a year under it's belt. At this point the Wii U definitely without a doubt has a better library, hands down, no contest but give the PS4 a year with the amount of 3rd party support it has & that will most definitely change.

As I have said before, I already have a Wii U, but if I had to buy a console this Christmas, I would go with the Wii U again. Maybe in a couple of years there will be enough interesting games to make a PS4 purchase worthwhile for me. I did not get my PS3 until Sept. 09 anyway.

Not to mention there is still support for it. GT6 is due for tomorrow. And still no reviews for it.

I bought a Wii U at launch because I love Nintendo games. I'm also a PC gamer.

I currently have no interest in getting a PS4 or XOne. Neither of the systems' launch titles are very enticing, and I don't see the value in paying for online services when I get them for free with Nintendo and my PC.

If I waited a year, hell yes I would buy a Wii U again. I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't wait. I would have saved at least $110 (figuring the price of Wind Waker bundle and the price drop).

Oh well.

I never understood the argument that the new systems don't offer anything but "prettier graphics." It's ironic because that's essentially what Mario 3D World is. It's a game that could have totally been done for Wii as it was done on the 3DS.

I agree the Wii U is definitely a capable system and just not properly marketed. The new commercials don't sell the system right either.

Both the PS4 and XBox One are great, but let's not forget the previous transition that cross generation games didn't really improve that much more on the newer hardware. It was after a few months that games started to look that much better. In the meantime we benefit from other perks like sharing game play, voice commands, and social media integration.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the Xbox/Playstation rivalry this gen. They're both offering basically the same games and experiences as each other and their predecessors while only Nintendo is providing anything different.

@bezerker99 Nintendo could go back to cartridge with no problems now and get back to what a console should be like. (The price never went down when the cost of the media did so we should be able to have the superior product again).

Just specifically on the 3rd party support aspect of this larger conversation, I'll re-post what I wrote in another thread:

For the average gamer who doesn't own either a Wii-U, PS4, or XB1, does spending hundreds of dollars on a console for Mario 3D World, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, and Zelda over the next 18 months seem like a better decision compared to what will make its way towards PS4 and XB1 and NEVER the Wii-U:
-Grand Theft Auto
-Uncharted
-Minecraft
-Infamous Second Son
-Driveclub
-The Witness
-Metal Gear Solid
-Dragon Age
-FIFA, Madden, NHL, or NBA games
-The Order: 1886
-Final Fantasy 15
-Destiny
-Diablo III Ultimate Edition
-The Division
-Deep Down
-Kingdom Hearts 3
-Titanfall
-Halo
-Thief
-Lord of the Rings
-Mad Max
-The Witcher
-Mirror's Edge
-Tomb Raider
-Forza
-Battlefield
-Need for Speed
-Gran Turismo
-Dead Rising
-Ni No Kuni 2

The lack of strong 3rd support has become the elephant in the room. When it comes to which single console is going to offer the most talked about and biggest blockbusters on a consistent basis over the next 18 months, it's unfortunately becoming increasingly difficult to recommend the Wii-U as the console to own when it so clearly does not and apparently will not for the foreseeable future have the depth of games that PlayStation and Xbox will have. Even if Smash Bros and Zelda turn out to be the best games ever (and I hope they are), for every amazing Nintendo first party title, it seems like those games will need to compete with 4 to 5 great games on the other consoles.

Could we be approaching the point where the majority of gamers decide that Mario and Zelda does not outweigh that list of games I mentioned above, which they'll have to give up?

Unless Nintendo has a ton of high profile surprises that will release in 2014 (not just be announced, but actually be released), the Wii-U may make the more expensive PlayStation and Xbox seem like a better value compared to buying a $300 Wii-U just for a handful of games.

I personally just purchased a Wii-U but I have to get a PS4 to play a lot of other games I like because they won't be released on the Wii-U.

Someone finding Killzone on PS4 exciting is no different to someone finding New Super Mario Bros on Wii U exciting this time last year. Nothing on any of them at launch to entice anyone but the most hardcore of fans. I'm closer to wanting Super Mario 3D World than anything out on the other two, but I find it incredibly ironic how many are mocking the line ups of those consoles for mostly offering slightly better versions of 360/PS3 games when this time last year the same people were having fun with slightly worse versions of 360/PS3 games on their Wii U.

More power allows for far more than better graphics. Games like Oblivion and Dead Rising showed that last time around. Neither were great to look at, but offered experienced you just could not make work on previous platforms and I have no doubt the same thing will happen again once developers drop the 360/PS3 versions of games (You can't judge new hardware on cross-gen games. Go back and look at the cross-gen gams from last time such as Gun and Just Cause, and there's a far bigger leap between the games that came a year after launch than there was between those cross-gen titles and the previous gen). Innovation in games does not come from needing a new control method. That's like saying movies won't move forward creatively unless we change the way we control our DVD players.

Given I have the trifecta of consoles(Xbox one, PS4, and Wii U), I can unmistakably agree with this article. ZombiU was an awesome Nintendo exclusive, and I felt their launch lineup(although weak) was still stronger than Sony and Microsofts.

The Sony Yawn station 4 & WarMachineBox 1 have got to be thee most unexciting next gen consoles ever to be released. The Next gen visual sparkle appears to be a half way mark, and nowhere near as striking compared to what was available on the PS3/XBOX 360. Just wait until the PS5 hits, the mute point is near and these dufus twins will actuallly have to whip up some clever hardware innovation and focus on 3D technology to push the industry forward. and the controllers?....they're nearly identacle. If you DON'T have buyers remorse with either console you're just lieing to yourself, that...or you haven't been gaming for that long.

Also, i thought 60fps and 1080p resolution and even 3D capable titles was going to be the standard! This is BS, considered how much power the twins are rocking this gen, there's no excuse. Sony lies and lies, and can never back up their Sony droid hype machine. The PS2's promise of games looking as great as the CG present in Star Wars episode 1 was a flat out lie. The PS3 being able to achieve 120fps games that was shown off with the new Metal gear solid, all lies. Now, 60fps & 1080p games being the standard....Lies again.

Enjoy the PS3.5 everyone, you silly dual analog warriors. I'd rather hit up a gym class with Richard simmons, i'd rather do Beebop and Rocksteadies dirty laundry, i'd rather strain my eye balls by playing teleroboxer for 5 hours straight on the virtual boy than dive into depressing dejavu Brown & grey realistic shooterville aka World War 3.

@Dreamcaster-X: Sony Fan's had been saying all year how the Wii U has had no games worth buying for the a reason for them to buy the system. The SAME can now be said for the PS4. There are NO GAMES worth running out and spending $400+ dollars. Also you need to spend $50 to get Playstation Plus just to play games like Killzone Shadow Fall online. So you need to spend $400 + tax, $50 for PS+, then $60 for Killzone SF.

You can spend $300 and get TWO games. The system is backwards compatible with your Wii library. Next year has an AMAZING line up of games coming that TOTALY warrant a Wii U purchase this holiday.

@SanderEvers a "bit more power" may be kind of an understatement, but you're right in terms of gameplay experience. The only game that tries something relatively new is Resogun. Knack looked very promising but it's "just" a Jak & Daxter/Ratchet & Clank "clone" imo.

I'm sure thr PS4 will have some pretty awesome exclusives in the next few years, but if I had to choose between all three launch line-ups I'd probably go with Nintendo again. As Damien said: Nintendoland is a blast in multiplayer and the atmosphere in ZombiU is unique in comparison to other more recent "horror" games (although I didn't enjoy it too much when I played it for the first time). Microsoft's launch games are imho at best on par with Sony's (but that's just me I guess. there's nothing released or announced on XBone, that really appeals to me)

That said, I see absolutely no reason to get a PS4 or a Xbone right now. But if I were buy a console I thought would likely have the best investment value with the most and best games in the future I'd choose the PS4. I would prefer the games just go to PC but many game developers seem to hate PC for fear of piracy.

I find it a bit ironic with the other article about Nintendo not caring about petitions and making decisions on what they personally think will make more money, as their personal decision to not advertise the Wii U as a hardcore or everyone system and push the Wii U all the way as a casuals system has not been working out. Not that there really is much that can be done about the Wii U's lower power compared to the competition.

There are some who say they enjoy Nintendo's family friendly games, and that's great, but it's not as if they Wii U had, and could support, the 3rd party games for the PS4 and Xbone those family friendly games would disappear or stop being made by Nintendo. I don't know why you would have that perception.

To be honest, the PS3 and Xbox 360 represent something I don't particularly enjoy in gaming: the rise of über realistic, brown-and-grey first person shooters. That is simply not what I want from gaming. Add the fact that I own a gaming PC and don't really care for Sony / Microsoft exclusives, and it becomes clear that there really is no reason for me to dabble in other consoles. Even the trailers for the next Final Fantasy, a series near and dear to my heart ever since the SNES (and the reason I purchased a PS2 back in the day), has managed to elicit nothing but groans from me.

Of course, I accept that many people think otherwise (which isn't to say I "understand" it ).

I gave Knack a go at Gamestop and it managed to keep my attention for about one and a half minutes. I absolutely failed to see why it wouldn't run on a PS3, the experience failed to provoke even a modest urge to invest in the console and I honestly felt sorry for the people who would be playing that, instead of Super Mario 3D World.

This is what I've been arguing since Day 1. This gens leap isn't all that impressive. it looks great, but it's a small leap compared to the last leap. The visuals are unimpressive and the games are even less impressive. They play exactly how they did last gen or even the gen before with no variation.

The Wii U however is the most radical jump this gen perhaps not graphically competition wise but graphically for a Nintendo system. And with the Gamepad, it has the most innovative way to play and due to being out a year has the strongest lineup of games at the moment.

@Ronoh child of Light is confirmed for Wii U and Ni No Kuni is NOT Sony exclusive. It actually started as a DS game and was remade for the PS3, it's not unrealistic, that it could come to Wii U or even 3DS

I've got both PS4 and Wii U. XO on the way. Leap over Wii U is big but it's not as big as I thought. Graphics are better, but they don't make me want to abandon Nintendo's system. Can't wait to play Mario 3DW and Donkey Kong TF.

@Baum897 Well then take Child of Light off the list - the point still stands. And I'm not saying that a PS4 can play all of those games or that I'm even interested in most of that stuff. I'm only getting a PS4 for Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV and I would never touch an Xbox.

But like I said, the overall point still stands. The importance is greater or smaller for some but the PS4 and XB1 will have a larger catalog of high profile titles than the Wii-U. There's no getting around that anytime soon and it's something that consumers will take into consideration when they're deciding what console to purchase.

Me too will choose Wii U over Ps4 first. When I just build up enough money, Wii U is in the top of my list. (Xbox one does not even count) Ps4 certainly has better graphics and will get all the multiplatform games, but will not get any Nintendo games (many of them must have games). Also Nintendo hardware alone is more unique than on the Sony or Microsoft side.

Funny how Nintendo got completely smashed for games like cod and what not looking similar to the ps3 or 360 versions but offered new ways to play like co-op no split screen and off screen play and yet the xbone and ps4 versions on most multiplatform games look barely any better and no out rage at all Makes no sense and I truly don't understand gamers these days back in the day we argued about actual games now the argument is what system sells better or what system is more powerful lol what a damn joke the industry is becoming sorry about the rantGreat article BTW the great games are coming for the ps4 no doubt and that's when I plan to pick one up

So far I'm not impressed with ps4. The Wii U pro controller is simply better than the duo shock 4. Both are great controllers, but I don't like the classic placement of the sticks. The ps4 makes for a good multimedia device, but does games poorly. It's unfortunate that the news media is saying otherwise. The one thing that Sony has going for itself is Tear Away, what I would consider a true next gen piece of art. Hopefully they'll do more to change the technical scene because iPad mini is pulverizing the gaming industry.

I can't afford any of the consoles but if I could it would definitely be a WiiU. Mostly because I am really not interested in green-and-brown games, shooting people, sports simulations, or much else that the others have to offer. If I had to choose between PS4 and XB1 it would definitely be PS4 as it will have some nice Japanese games and isn't region locked. Which is another reason I don't have a WiiU. But in fact I will just continue with my 3DS and my old Wii as I just don't have a ton of money to spend on these things. As for "lack of games" - how many games can people afford to buy anyway? A few really good ones is what I need.

Do people realize yet that developers can innovate in games without having to use a touchscreen on a controller? Hell, Nintendo used to innovate with two buttons and a D-pad. My point being that the people saying this next gen is going to have all the same games except for what's on WiiU don't have a clue what they're talking about.

The more power of the Xbone and PS4 isn't just going to be used for graphics. They'll be able to have better AI, bigger worlds, etc. because of it. The Wiiu is in that same position really. Graphically it's not a gigantic leap forward from the Wii, but the added horsepower will allow them to do more with the game design.

@AltDotNerd It was also pure hype that sold the WiiU at launch, because it sure as heck didn't have any system sellers then, and it still likely doesn't now.

One big problem is how long its taking some of the 1st party games for the Wii u to come out and I know Nintendo has been busy with the 3ds and all but I have a feeling they didn't realize how time consuming it can be to develop HD games and its showing

Honestly people give the new consoles some time. We gave the Wii U some time. The best game for the Wii U, Super Mario 3D World, didn't come out until a year after the Wii U. The 3DS games that are coming out now, two and a half years later, are some of the best ever released for the handheld (gameplay and graphically wise). Look at the Wii U games that came out on launch: New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU, Ninja Gaiden 3, among other third party titles also released on other consoles. On the Wii U virtual console didn't arrive until 6 months later and the first great titles didn't arrive until March, in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Lego City Undercover. The next Nintendo game didn't come out until June in Game & Wario and August with Pikmin 3. Give the new consoles some time to receive great games. We gave the Wii U time.

Also keep in mind that the PS3 and XBOX 360 were already HD consoles unlike the Wii. The graphical jump between the Wii and the Wii U is far greater than the PS3/PS4 and XBOX 360/XBOX One.

To be clear I love Nintendo and I own a Wii U, 3DS XL, Wii, 2 DSi's, original DS, GameCube, Gameboy SP, Advance, Color, and a NES. So do not say I am a Sony/Microsoft fan. I also own 2 old PS2's and a XBOX 360 both of which I rarely play. I turn on both maybe once a month.

Doesn't really matter, people will go where the exclusives they want are or will be. I'm sticking to the Wii U. I dabbled in 360 last gen because my brothers wanted one but there wasn't anything for me there or at least nothing to keep me there or make me want to move on to the next freeze-60.

Nice piece Damo (I still think you should post it over on PS, but we just had that discussion like 2 months ago. Would be really interesting to read the comments though)

I havent actually bought 1 yet but you neatly sum up why. Knack was big on my list but it's fixed camera. Fixed camera is not a good way to show off new hardware. Not with those graphics, while the PS3 has Last of Us, Beyond 2 Souls and GTA V. And GT6. Why buy a PS4?

Actually If people were still on Dreamcast and PS2 and Wii I'ld suggest PS3 (THREE) before either a Wii U, PS4 or X1. The games and price are there.

Welcome to the dark Age of gaming, with nintendo being the last bit of shimmering light. The PS4 & XBone are a joke, these aren't next gen consoles, they're .5 add ons without a shred of innovation in sight WITH the sheer focus being on visuals. they couldn't even get 60fps and 1080p to be the standard, what in the hell is going on here?

@Pit-Stain 18 players on COD is cool, but buying the game because it's blue on ps4 is not as good as off screen play. I suppose you could use the vita for that, but haven't cared to try it because it was dreadful on ps3.

@SNES4Life First of all I don't think it was just Sony fans that were saying that. The Wii U had VERY slim pickings until August rolled around & then the AAA stuff started coming monthly. I have all the major systems because I enjoy various types of games. I'm just not blind to what is happening in the marketplace. Nintendo does their own thing & I applaud them for it but the Wii U is floundering HARD & it's only gonna get harder.
The Wii U does have a great library currently but look at the recent sales numbers, they're gonna probably lose more 3rd party support & they don't have that much to begin with. The Wii U will become another system that is amazing for Nintendo games. Ubi & Warner are probably not gonna stick around too much longer & wait for Nintendo to turn it around.
You're sitting their criticizing PS4's price point and last year the Wii U was only $50 less than a PS4 with WAY less horsepower & a controller to which hardly any games take advantage of anymore. Even Nintendo has been shying away from promoting the use of the gamepad in their own games lately. You say it's a better value & it is at the moment but the numbers speak for themselves. PS4 wiped away Wii U's lead in the UK in 48 hours & at this point it will be completely wiped away in just about 3 months time worldwide. Obviously there is a market for people who were willing to pay $400 plus for a console & online services. Nintendo just doesn't have the 3rd party support or online infrastructure to compete. It will do what it has done in the past, it will co-exist and be the console you play Nintendo games on & there's nothing wrong with that.

I agree. I played the Knack demo and compared it to the W101 demo. I thought W101 was better based off of that. Also, ya Resogun definitely could have been on anything.

I'm not saying Xbox One and PS4 are absolutely horrible, but their library of games is just as bad as Wii U's was when it launched, so I don't really think that particular area of criticism was called for.

I can see the graphical changes on all platforms(including Wii U, exclusives), but they definitely aren't as good as they could be, so hype was mainly for launching of new hardware and less so for software.

Would I play Dead Rising 3 or Killer Instinct? Yes. Would I play Killzone or Knack? No. I'd rather play CoD or W101 over Knack and Killzone. I feel like PS fans are getting the short end of the stick, software wise, in exchange for hardware.

For some reason, I find that the Wii U graphics looks better to me. Must be because there games are so colorful compared to PS4/Xbox One brown and grey, colorless, realistic, detailed, dull graphics. :/

"Up and down like a brides nightie" lol I can say first hand my wife never wanted to pick up the wiiu until sm3dw came out. Now she can't put it down. Different strokes for different folks. our family is quiteppleased with wiiu for our next gen console. We all think it's underrated

@rjejr Agreed. I would choose a PS3 over any other console OUT NOW, even though I do not own a PS3. The ability to play 3D Blu-rays, stream Netflix and other media sources, as well as the ability to play HD games, makes it a great overall system. Also with the PS4 recently released prices for new PS3 games should start decrease faster.

@CountWavula well I agree to an extent after what Microsoft tried to do to us and people are still crazy enough to blindly forgive them for that DRM bull and the fact that we now are accepting micro transactions and shorter games and mark my words even more scamish dlc yeah future seems bleak I have nothing against Sony though not yet anyway I think the ps4 looks great all I'm waiting for is a good RPG with none of that BS I was talking about and I'll get it in a heartbeat also loving my recently purchased vita all thanks to Ys a series that I love to death I think Nintendo gets a bad rap most of the time for nothing . Messed up thing is the Wii u would have got more sales and better 3rd party support if they would have made a console similar to the ps4 but it wouldn't have made Mario any better of a game so what's the point? Most gamers don't look at it that way power is everything but refuse to buy a PC and stop complaining I don't get it

@SCAR392 to me personally, Wii U launch software was great. Not counting the 'launch window' and confirmed games, I still had my favourite game in my favourite genre bundled with my premium pack: Zombi U. And everything needed for the multiplayer straight out of the box! It even supports remote+nunchuck, which I have plenty of.And Nintendoland is another great couch multiplayer game we still play with friends over.

This is the reason why graphics are irrelevant. The leap in graphics isn't drastic enough to really wow anyone. I remember when the PS2 and Gamecube were released, the graphics amazed me. You could clearly tell a difference between PS2 and PSX. Same goes with the PS3 and PS2, their is a clear difference when it comes to visuals. With that all said, I will be getting PS4 and a Wii U this generation.

I love my PS3 and I already have a Wii U(which I love as well) and see no need to upgrade my PS for a while. Infamous was fun but I still never took the sequel out of the wrapping yet and never played the PSN game that I downloaded yet either. I already have Diablo 3. I can get Watch Dogs on Wii U. The only Uncharted game I liked was 2, the first one was laugh worthy compared to the praise it got and way overrated. I just downloaded FarCry 3 the other day and honestly it is more entertaining than anything I have seen for the PS4 or the Xbox One yet.

The biggest insult is no Backward compatibility. I don't have that much space on my tv stand and if PS4 had that it would be much more compelling. Streaming games is not going to be the same experience at all.

@Shambo
I liked the Wii U launch, too. My point was that Xbox One and PS4's launch was aruably just as lack luster as everyone said the Wii U's was, software wise, and there's a ton more games since it's been out for a year.

There wouldn't have been this many games in comparison to the other consoes if it would have launched last month.

I have to say that I have been thinking the exact same thing about the fidelity of the new offerings of Sony and MS. I am, first and foremost, a gamer. I am nobody's fanboy. And I can, at the same time say, that I have been leaning more towards my preference of Nintendo's products for a long time.

I too do not see a huge leap in visual quality from PS3 - PS4 and XB360 and XB1. I have written this recently. But this is the very first generation of consoles where I have not been an early adopter. I have all of the systems ever on the market, except for the XB1 and PS4. I simply don't see the value proposition. The launch titles, to me, don't compare to the Wii U's. The Wii U had something for everyone. I have said this from day one of Wii U. I actually thought it had the best launch lineup of games for any system since I have been following my favorite hobby in 1987. The Wii U had Mario, Zombi U, cross platform games like Assasin's Creed 3, Batman, etc. The launch had quality titles for everyone. Honestly, there are no games for XB1 or PS4 that I have to have.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and practicality are starting to take over but I just didn't feel compelled to go out and buy the XB1 or PS4. Yes, I felt a twinge of guilt by not opening brand new tech on launch day. But that's me overcoming my gaming OCD! And I'm glad for it. I'm perfectly happy with my Wii U, 3DS and Steam games on my PC. I just don't see the leap from previous Sony / MS machines either.

The Wii U certainly has the best selection of games now. I'll have a look at the PS4 next Christmas-I find Sony machines usually become worth getting on their 2nd Christmas out (see PS1 in 1996 and PS2 in 2001). Needs time for 3rd-party support to ramp up.

Right now Wii U is king in my home over my Xbox 360 & PS3, & I plan to get a PS4 when they come out with the next upgraded version &/or the games start to get way better. If u really wanna game right have (a Wii U) and either (a PS4 or an Xbox One) and (a 3DS) and optionally (a modest PC) ^.^

The big takeaway from this article is that there is no reason to be an early adopter for any gaming consoles (however people will still do it). It is best to wait for better games and a price drop on the console. Most consoles have had better software later in their lifespan. There is no reason to call a console a failure because of the lack of software at launch. Every console has that problem. Games will get better for each new console as time goes on.

Actually the big takeaway from this should be that the gaming industry needs to team up. Sony needs to make hardware, Nintendo needs to develop software, and Microsoft needs to do marketing?

@Ronoh That's the point I think alot of people aren't talking about. I love Nintendo to death but I'm not dumb, the 3rd party support is deteriorating & after the holiday sales numbers roll in I can almost bet that Ubi & Warner are gonna start slowly withdrawing support & they're pretty much all the Wii U has left at this point as far as BIG AAA titles go & if Ubi does go the Wii U is dead in the water except for Nintendo's own amazing first party stuff & for gamers who like various amounts of content it's not a system you can recommend as your sole console. You need a Wii U & one of the other systems to get that content.

It's sad that Nintendo's only "weapon" against XBO and PS4 is Super Mario 3D World. It's a great game, but the problem on the WiiU is that there are not enough games to cover all genres. I would not get Sony's or Microsoft's console because instead I'll rather buy a PC where, thanks to Steam, there are almost all great 3rd party games at lower prices and running on a much more powerful, upgradable machine. So the weakpoints, in my opinion, are that N's first parties can't cover all the needs of a gamer and the other two consoles are way too similar to a PC, that's why I think that int the future, and with the perspective of a Steam machine, console's and PCs are going to merge into an hybrid. Nintendo is doing the right thing as long as they focus on their strenghts: make great games and great consoles for those games. Nintendo needs to continue making toys (instead of super-technological stuff), because toys are always fun to play with!

Have to agree with you @Damo atm the Wii U is the best console to get/own game wise including 2014 lineup will this continue into 2015 who knows depends how Nintendo will handle the increase in demand for games seeing as 1st party support is going to be sparse.@Dogpigfish I have a Pro controller and have played on my friends PS4 quite a bit and it is in no way better than the dualshock 4 what are you on.

@jjmesa16 Yeah it seems to be the "popular" or "hip" thing to say but you HAVE to have early adopters!!!! If nobody buys a console at launch, the companies don't make money, if the companies don't make money, they don't roll out content. You HAVE to have early adopters, there's just no way not to have people buy a console at launch!!!!

"any household which isn't ringing to the Super Mario 3D World theme tune this festive season is missing out, big time."

This is definitely the key. I can imagine a kid waking up to a Wii U and Super Mario 3D World is gonna be having fun all day, whereas a kid waking up to a PS4 and it's most highly rated launch title may move onto a different activity (probably Legos) pretty quickly.

@Jazzer94I'll have to disagree, the Dual Shock 4 is awesome!! Sony nailed it this time and the added touchpad is just icing on the cake. The only thing the Wii U Pro Pad does better is battery life. Nintendo did an AMAZING job with how long the Pro Controller lasts on one charge.

@jjmesa16 "give the other consoles some time"? I say no because while Nintendo fans gave the Wii U time other gamers did not. Thus the PS and Xbox don't deserve that time to get good games since we were not given that privilege. So no games on PS and Xbox!

Final Fantasy needs to come to the Wii U. Xenoblade will entice many but more JRPGs need to come out for the Wii U. It wasn't until the end of the Wii that some really great JRPGs came out and some had poor sales because of it. I hope that does not happen with the Wii U.

@Dreamcaster-X Right, this 3rd party support issue is actually what I'm concerned about the most. Nintendo has their fair share of issues in other areas (most notably online networking and account systems). But the Wii-U really needed to avoid being perceived as the console that only plays Mario and Zelda and casual games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit and for everything else, go elsewhere. That's obviously a problem consumer wise but it's also a problem publisher wise.

There's a ton of high profile third party games coming out for PS4 and XB1 in the next several months. If those games help grow the install base of the PS4 and the XB1 (and they will certainly do so), as the install base gap grows between those consoles and the Wii-U, that will give publishers less and less reason to even consider porting games to the Wii-U. And that just creates a snowball of problems, most notably how retail respond in terms of shelf space allocation.

I reiterate: Judging by the games scores, especially exclusives, Wii U dominates (I use that term lightly) the other consoles. Currently.I see that the xbox one has instant access to other entertainment, like DVD/blu-ray, or TV... Well you can have instant access to DVD/blu-ray or TV on Wii U AND have the ability to play while watching them.

@Dreamcaster-X Maybe I'm controller blind, but I still enjoy the Wavebird better than Dual Shock 4 (The best still the SNES controller).@Senario Here-here!

It comes down to the games you want to play. I picked up my Wii U in the launch window (just before Rayman got delayed) and enjoyed the games I'd picked. But as the year has gone on, due to poor sales third party devs seem to abandoning the Wii U and third party games I hoped would come are now not looking to materialise. On Friday I received my PS4 which I pre-ordered and have the enjoyed the experience so far. I now in my opinion have a good gaming set up Wii U for the Ninty exclusives and the PS4 for all the Sony exclusives and third party titles that will not be gracing the Wii U.

399 is such a great price point for the ps4 I'm happy I bought it. Killzone is pretty good (even though I have no idea how to play multiplayer on it). Launches are difficult as you have to convince 3rd party to move to the next generation and few have yet. I think games like Pikmin 3 really make you love Nintendo, they just jam pack the quality and I think they'll still remain dominant unless developers step up in the quality department. Time will tell.

I had a wii u day one and loved it. But I've only used it to play certain titles this yr...mass effect 3, mario, zelda, zombi u etc. I wish Nintendo would make more games. Just wait until they release "X" itsgonna be killer!!!
I also bought a ps4 day one...which broke in 30 mins! Sony did, however, replace it in 24 hrs so I can't complain. Since then I absolutely love it and know it'll be a good investment. I have experienced nothing that this author has, everything is quick, snappy and the UI is fantastic. Sharing video to Facebook is particularly awesome.
This generation is all about ps4 and wii U for me. Both offer different experiences and in this way, they both shine.
Nintendo really needed to call the wii u something different IMO and get their donkey in gear marketing-wise, that's the major reason why wii u has struggled - lack of consumer awareness, crappy same name as last gen and lack of games full stop

@LDXD I agree. My favorite 3DS commercial (which probably had a subconscious effect in me buying the 3DS eventually) was the one where two gamers were arguing which game, Super Mario 3D Land or Resident Evil Revelations was better.

We need more commercials like that for the Wii U... It highlights Nintendo's best games and proves that contrary to popular belief, Nintendo systems have games of all types! (Nintendo PUBLISHED Ninja Gaiden 3 for goodness sake)

I really don't feel that the graphics of the PS4 and Xbox One are a big enough improvement over their predecessors to justify the price. The games seem quite similar to last gen, and the control schemes appear to have only been slightly tweaked; well, I guess the Xbox One has Kinect, but I haven't really seen them integrate it into games in an interesting way; it seems like its meant mostly for a few party games and some extra features. The PS4 and Xbox One may very well deliver excellent gaming experiences even with the lack of new features, but unless those experiences end up being significantly better than those on PS3 and 360, I say these new consoles just aren't worth the money.

Nintendo needs to work on advertising with major releases. There are game commercials that have that familiar beep and logo of the PS4 and XBOX but some of those same games are on the Wii-U. How many people realize that Call of Duty: Ghosts and Assassin's Creed is available on the Wii-U? People see these games and immediately think PS and XBOX, and even me. I didn't realize until weeks later that CoD: Ghosts was available for the Wii-U because it seems more of a PS/XBOX thing. The Wii-U is changing that but more advertising needs done.

@CountWavula They aren't next-gen?! Hahahaha Now I can't take any of your post serious from this point if you're going to make statements like that. If we go by that logic, the very same can be said of the Wii U. It's nothing but a Wii 2.0 slapped with HD graphics! See how stupid that sounds?!

Oh wow, people on a Nintendo site prefer a Nintendo Console, what a shocker.

From what I've seen of the PS4 so far, the graphics look like PS3 graphics still just slightly better, however like most game consoles, the launch games always look like last gen games, until upcoming games roll out, I'm not sure why people don't get that.

From what I saw of second son it looks absolutely amazing, next gen too.

I'd pick a PlayStation console over Nintendo consoles any day. That said I do plan to pick up a Wii U by the end or middle of next year.

Well you're a writer for a dedicated Nintendo fan site, which means we can all assume there's maybe just a tiny wee bit of unintentional Nintendo "love" [bias] in there, so I can see how you'd feel this way, especially around the time that one of Nintendo's best and most enthralling Wii U games has just launched, but being totally objective for a second I genuinely think either the PS4 or Xbox One are probably the better long-term purchases for most entertainment and even just plain old "gaming" consumers and I'd certainly recommend one of those systems over a Wii U for any person that isn't 100% excited by Nintendo's first party games.

If a person can afford multiple consoles then obviously I think Wii U is worth getting, certainly more so than buying two almost identical systems, but I would in most cases recommend one of the other two system over a Wii U and either way I'd still suggest maybe purchasing a 3DS well before recommending a Wii U at this point to be totally honest.

I guess it's nice to see more and more recent articles where people are genuinely fighting in Nintendo's corner and maybe even a little more optimistic about the system for the first time in a long time though.

@Ronoh That used to bother me when I was still single and had (well thought I had) money to burn. At this point in my life, my budget is good for 1 or 2 really great full release games and a handful of Virtual Console/Indie style titles. The added cost of Xbox Live sucked away one of those full release titles when I owned a 360. Depends on the budget I guess, but not getting everything is not as big of a deal to me as it used to be.

I choose PS over Xbox because Sony allows that while also giving me access to it's own wealth of awesome exclusives.

People make way too big of a deal out of this. I understand some people don't have a lot of money, but you know the system's coming like 2 years before it does, and it takes a year to really heat up, so can you not save a few hundred dollars over a few years?

@FX29 To be honest. I thought the Gamecube's graphics were definitely better than PS2's. In fact, both GC and Xbox's graphics were superior to the PS2's. I have all 3 and I made my own determination of that. The Gamecube was a remarkable console. Many hours have went into that console between Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash! I'd even say more so than my PS2.

@Rafie Gamecube rocked & I think it was overall the most powerful system of that generation, just barely eeeking out the original Xbox in terms of power but that one could go either way. I think it's Nintendo's best system after SNES but the Wii U is getting closer to the top for me with each release.

Visuals are never going to be more important than gameplay... Ryse: Son of Rome sure it has incredible realistic graphics... but it's acclaimed by critics to be the weakest next-gen launch title for being boring and repetitive. And honestly I'm dissapointed for what Xbone/PS4 has to offer right now, all of those games are basically the same as the past generation but only with slightly better graphics, there's nothing creative or exciting more than just graphical enhancement. At least Wii U offers unique experiences that are and feel genuinely fun and there's hope people start to appreciate that in order to increase Wii U sales.

@Damo Nice read. I see that you've attempted for an objective view here. Others may not take it as that. I do have to say that most of your review though is purely PREFERENCE! You don't enjoy FPS or anything like that, so KZ isn't really your cup of tea. Knack isn't that bad of a game either. It's definitely no Mario. LOL Thanks for the read!

nice article. this is interesting b/c this is what nintendo has been predicting all along: that the hardware specs (i.e. graphics) war was going to reach a limit at some point, and that if video games are going to continue to be compelling there has to be something else to draw people in.

If you were "genuinely enthralled” by NSMBU, i think it's clear to see you have a fanboy allegiance. There's really no point in denying that.

IMO, there are far too few games of any worth being released/incoming on WiiU, that it doesn't make much sense to own if you already have a 3ds. I'd rather wait for handheld ports than waste the shelf space with a WiiU.

@Rafie Yeah I think Knack is pretty fun too. I agree with the reviews that gave it a 7 out of 10 or 3 out of 5. It's got a lot of potential but you can see where they sacrificed stuff to make it a launch title but I'm really hoping for a sequel.

This is why i don't buy any console at release (or less than a year after) anymore, the era of huge leaps in power is over (From NES to SNES to N64), we get refinements instead, and i lost interest in console gaming in general, all too similar games and all that.

I love my 3DS XL though, loved Nintendo handhelds since the late GB-days, but TV-consoles are pretty meh to me lately.

@Dreamcaster-X Absolutely! Knack is still a good game. It's not terrible how everyone is portraying it. I've seen quite a bit of your post and I noticed you see things objectively. I knew this would turn into a bashfest for the PS4. Crazy. Some post on here like Peach64, yours, and a few others are cool. No console is perfect. None. However, it's really about preference in your software that will make a determination of what console you would get. Since I love ALL consoles, I will get them all. I don't have a XB1 right now, but I'll have it when Titanfall drops.

The advantages for any system are if it offers what you want and if you have fun with it. I chose a U because of backwards compatibility and a library that I know will be great for my young children and allow me enough games that I enjoy for the little time I get to play. I'd probably buy a PS4 too for some of the RPG's but really I have no time for it.....so for this gen....its Wii U only....and that will be great for me.

@Rafie Same here. If the reviews for TitanFall are as good as it looks it may push me to get the One, if not that then potentially Halo 5 but I'm not too thrilled with the time I've spent with XB1 as of today.

@Dreamcaster-X Well I think the XB1 had the more enticing launch than both Sony and Nintendo. Killer Instinct would have been enough for me to get alone. However, the 100 dollar price tag prevented me from getting it first. So I went with the PS4 and opted for the XB1 at a later date. However, I always get Nintendo consoles on day one for some reason. LOL Nintendo makes great software, but there's something they are missing this time around.

I'll probably pick up an Xbox One within the next couple months, but it won't consist of any games besides KI until some other games come out. I can already buy AC IV, CoD, Watch_Dogs, etc. on Wii U, so I feel less inclined to buy another system, yet.

@Kirk You're not alone, Kirk! I had to save a lot of money between both the Wii U and the PS4. I couldn't get the XB1 due to my children's Christmas. My daughters want the first Wii though, so I will buy them one. They can't have mine. LOL

I really don't think sony or microsoft have yet made a good case on why someone should get their new consoles over their older consoles to me they really don't offer nothing new over the ps3 or xbox360 that substantial , the Wii U offers a definite jump in hardware over the Wii Nintendo's Wii U seems like the better choice by a mile to me at this point for those wanting a new system .

@Jazzer94From my use of analog triggers, it really depends. Hardy any games use them, and for the games that do, it doesn't make that much of a difference to me. It might have been because of the design of the GamePad. Where the buttons are now, I can't see how they could have added them.

The only games I ever saw where the analog mattered was Smash Bros. Melee and Super Mario Sunshine. I realize they're there for racing games, too, but most other games are usually an all or nothing control. Aim, shoot, go, throw, run, whatever. Running could be handled with the joystick alone, so a run button doesn't always make sense, but it probably is more accurate. That doesn't realy have anything to do with the analog triggers, though, so more reason why they don't 100% matter to me.

@Will-75 I think it's fair to say that the PS3 and 360 were already in the HD worlds that had fabulous graphics compared to the Wii. So with the new generation, you may see a slight graphical change, but not a huge jump until a few years in the future. I can probably tell you that the next Nintendo console will be in the same boat the PS4 and Xbox One will be in because it won't be a huge graphical jump from what they are doing now.

Even if I did get an Xbox One, I probably wouldn't want to pay for online. I had an Xbox 360 and I only played a few games online, with alot actually being offline.

Since the Wii U has free online, I can justify buying more games for it. I wouldn't want to pay $50 a year just to play CoD online or KI. I play CoD and Monster Hunter online on Wii U, but I probably wouldn't be paying Nintendo for online either. You already have to pay internet bills as it is, so I think online fees, especially Microsoft's, shoud be lowered since they've been making bank off of Xbox Live for years. That's just me, but free online always wins in my book.

On Wavebird: The controller is perfectly weighted, can reach insane distances away, and has a huge battery life.

@Ronoh The popularity contest is Nintendo's Worst enemy. The "Console Wars" helped Sony and Microsoft market to the masses. (Watch South Park's latest trilogy for a good view on it)@Dreamcaster-X the Dualshock4 might be a better controller (And better than xbones), but.... The Pro pad is still good. One of the worst controllers Nintendo's released was the "SNES-STYLE Wii pad".@Rafie Actually, the PS2 was the weakest. It gained popularity for having the DVD player, a cheaper price and some alright games. If you look at competing consoles, perspectives have switched (maybe not perspectives, but ideals.) since the NES era: The Mastersystem was more powerfulthan the NES, the Genesis and TurboGraphx 16 were more powerful than SNES, the PS1 was less powerful than the N64. Waning from the last generation, it seems powerful is the new absolute.
If you got the Wii U, just transfer your stuff there, and give your daughters that old Wii. It's quite seamless to go from Wii U home to the Wii part.
From all the videos I've watched of Knack, I'm still not interested. I'd like to play it, but I am still uninterested. I'm even less interested in Forza, 'cause I generally don't like driving games... and according to the ACTUAL game footage, it goes in slow motion .@Doma Just because I enjoyed a game makes me a fanboy? I was "enthralled" with Red Dead Redemption, but that didn't last too long...
Maybe I am a 'Fanboy', but I'm not biased. "Doom and gloom" is something I disagree with because it's primarily prejudiced, with little actual facts/exaggerated quotations... and more based on opinions. Of course, there is a lot of the same happening defending the Wii U. For my defence, I do try to research before posting any facts.

@Jazzer94
I don't play racing games except Mario Kart and F-Zero, though. The only racing game I've had besides those was some obscure NASCAR game I had on N64 with a steering wheel that I got as gift. I've played Need For Speed a couple times, but I'm really not interested.

Also, I have Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, but I still don't see why I would need analog triggers for that. I'm either going full speed already or fully accelerating, anyway.

@Williaint Yeah I looked the specs up about the PS2 and saw them against the other 2. I guess I was right all of those years ago when I was arguing with a Sony fanboy. Even after I proceeded to tell him that I have a PS2 I play extensively. He didn't want to hear that. Now as far as the Genesis being more powerful than the SNES. I would have to call your bluff on that. I had both and I could tell you the graphics on the SNES was far greater than Genesis.

Oh and about the Wii. From the PS1 all the way up to now, I have kept my consoles. I don't give them away to anyway. My Wii is actually preserved. I know I can just transfer and use my Wii U, but I still want my console. It's only 40 bucks at GameStop anyway, It ain't breaking my pockets.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. The first generation of games on a new console generation aren't that visually impressive yet? Has someone told the BBC yet? It's almost as if it'll take a year or two before actually impressive games start popping up in new generations.

Funny how you're affirming the leap to hd now being nintendo's strong point, basically implying they were right with wii not being hd as the hd penetration wasn't as far along yet - yet the amount of crap people gave them over it is incredible...

@ Rafie Genesis wasn't actually a lot more powerful, but it was. and TurboGrafX-16 was as well. Really, that didn't seem to matter much — especially since most gamers around that generation were kids.
That's fine. It's also a great way to play GCN games. $40? That's less expensive than a 3DS game!
I own a PS1, I bought it with 2 dual shock controllers and a few memory cards for $10. I don't have games for it, though.NOTE: I just checked a site comparing the 16-bit generation; I guess The Genesis was faster ( by about 4 Mhz), but really not that much better. The TGX-16 is debatably more powerful ( I was under the impression it just WAS). So, ya, you're more right about the graphics. That's what I get for assuming things all these years.... (On the other hand the 32x did power it up, and the NEO GEO AES was faster, but about the same price as xbone, and with less games)
@ I-AM-REGGIE That's not a bad guess. Nintendo will, no doubt, do better than last year. There are a lot of people who want a Wii U, but are still waiting. I know xbone has huge promises to live up to, and there is still the
big deal about "Microsoft's XBOX division" changing hands; that can always have consequences. Dire Consequences.@erv Indeed.. I wouldn't say it's a strong point, unless you only care about graphics, and pretty colours. You may was well watch a movie, or even better, go outside for a walk. That's almost as good graphics as xbone!

@Dreamcaster-X No, I am saying because other console fans gave the Wii U crap for "no games" in the first year they have no right to say "wait for games to be released on the other consoles." With regards to a launch lineup and the first year. It is a double standard to hate on nintendo alone for no games in the first year and be patient for the other two for having no games.

@Williaint Then Sega did a poor job exhibiting those powers. Graphically, their games were inferior to the SNES. You can clearly see them too. The music on Genesis was straight boss though. LOL TurboGrafix 16 I can't say much about. I only played it a few times in my life. I was only a child going into my preteens then.

Oh and yes you can find a Wii that cheap. I know it's sad, but it's true. I have a few game on my PS1 that looks like I just bought it 5 minutes ago brand new.

all gamers know that there will always be few titles in year one and then a drought followed by e3 and in year two games start to climb out of their cocoons. in the mean time if you still own one of last gen consoles why not play a game you missed or didn't try. now back to catherine on ps3 because it has one crazy story! and for that stack of wii u games, m psn account stack is like 12 of those!

@ScorpionMG That's certainly fine. As I said, I'm only interested in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV at this point. I would imagine most people who read this website are not interested in most of those games as well.

But for the masses, that list of games is a potential game changer for people on the fence about what system to purchase. Some will undoubtedly go with the Wii-U for Smash Bros and X and Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei and other games we'll get. But I think a lot of people will lean towards the PS4 or XB1. Remember, many of the games on the list already have a huge following numbering in the millions based on sales of previous games in their franchises (Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider, sports games, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, etc.). They easily do Zelda numbers as it is. Hell, Tomb Raider sold more than Skyward Sword. And not even Mario Kart can outsell Grand Theft Auto.

@Rafie
Oh for the love of Amanda Bynes, sure they're 'technically' next gen, but in this day and age i expect something more out of a NextGen console rather than doing the EXACT same thing as it's predecessor. What makes the PS4 stand out Vs the PS3? The visuals....as always, this has been 'standard' for any next gen console to get a visual face lift. However both the Wii & DS changed things, they shook up the industry and gave us motion & stylus controls and when done right they are outstanding.

I expected Sony and MS to do something more that regurgitate the same gameplay experiences with a new lick of paint. Kinect 2 and Move(last gen peripheral..) will most likely be complete afterthoughts and used for about 5% of their games. Sure the Wii U isn't breaking any grounds with it's horse power(although HD and XBOX 360+ power is 'new' or nintendo)but that controller....The possibilities with it's 2nd screen that replicates a 2nd window into the gaming world and then some? THAT's the type of hardware innovation or route i want to see, hardware evolving instead of remaining a cut & paste stagnent piece of plastic like it has been for sony since the late 90's with it's release of the dual shock controller. I love pure retro gaming(I'm talking D-pad, none of his dual analog junk) as much as the next NintenZoid, but i also want new types of experiences via innovative use of innovative hardware. Enter the Wii U game pad, zoink!

Killer instinct slightly has my interest, and maybe 'The Order' if it supports Move pointer controls, but that's about it really. Wouldn't mind seeing sequels to Tomba!, Jumping Flash, Power Stone, Viewtiful Joe ect ect but they would sell poorly due to the pathetic state of the industry and it's man-boner for post appocalyptic brown and grey shooters that continue to sell millions.

@Senario If anything the Wii U had a easier time of it in the press at launch than PS4 or XB1. Just look at the review scores & you will see some SUPER critical scores for both consoles lineup. The new consoles have not really done anything differently in the way that other consoles have launched and actually have had really big lineups compared to consoles in the past. Even if half those games are ports from other systems they're still launch titles and the Wii U was criticized for the same thing last year. If we wrote off every console for having a poor launch we'd never have any systems. I don't think players started criticizing the Wii U til after launch that it didn't have games & they would be right. It was pretty much a ghost town til August.

Just looking at launch titles, Wii U beats both PS4 and Xbox One. In one year things might look different though. Way too early to say if any of these consoles can be considered a success.

Yes, I do know that both PS4 and Xbox One sold incredibly well but that mostly points out the fact that both MS and Sony's hype really worked. The months/years ahead will undoubtedly be easier for Sony and MS though.

@Ronoh This is exactly how i feel, too. Nintendo makes great games, and i bought a Wii U because i know i won't get them anywhere else... But mostly everyone else looking to buy a new console wants the big, AAA 3rd party games more than they want Mario, Zelda, etc nowadays. I cant recommend Wii U to anyone but Nintendo fans because thats all the system really is going to have in the near future.

I'll be getting a PS4, because if i don't, i cant play great stuff like Destiny, Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy XV, etc. It sucks that Nintendo continues to make consoles that only they want to make games for. I love the GamePad, but the choice to be 'innovative' over developer friendly is what is going to place Wii U in a distant 3rd place this gen. I dont believe it's doomed by any means, but the majority of the gaming community just wont accept a Nintendo-only box anymore. Ninty fans will, but the majority will not.

NSMB.U alone is more interesting and fun than anything on the PS4 at the moment. Plus throw in NintendoLand and ZombiU WiiU-launch wise it anihilates both the Xbone 1 and PS4's launch lineups combined.

@CountWavula Because a console needs to have some sort of drastic change to the controller to be able to have innovative games, right? Like when the NES had that innovative controller consisting of only a few buttons and a D-pad and popped out games like Zelda and Super Mario Bros. Or when the SNES defined innovation by adding a few more buttons and giving gamers Super Mario World and Chrono Trigger.

I simply say, it's not a graphic question but a third party and support question.
Nintendo's strong points are:
best first party games
low price

Sony microsoft
third party support
better graphic

If you only buy one game every 1 or two months then nintendo still remains a good choice
But If you want more choice and want to buy 2 games per month then nintendo can't offer this (because of lack of support)
Nintendo games are mostly excellent but there is lack of variety. There aren't rpg or jrpg. Only one fighting game, tekken. No driving simulator. Lack of sports game. Lack of strategic.
So you can still prefer wii u but you know you will miss something and i refer especially to final fantasy 15 and metal gear 5
Nintendo has lost 2 great games in a moment when it could have grabbed them because ff and mg aren't exclusive anymore
When you can cacth two game like that and lose the opportunity then it means that you haven't worked well

@hylianhalcyon
That was then, when video games were in their infant(yet amazing) stage. It was a LOT easier to creative innovative games(mega Man, castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, the list goes on ect ect) that were unlike anything we've seen or experienced before because there wasn't much to draw inspiration or borrow ideas from in the gaming world other than what was available for the Atari & arcades for the most part. it was the true beginning for the industry and imagination & innovation was in full force. So many unique and original experiences. Flash forward almost 30 years later and it feels like we've seen it all outside of hardware innovation. there's really only so much you can do nowadays with actual in-game innovation and when there is, it's nowhere near as profound or exciting, usually being minimal if that.. Everybody is now borrowing heavily from popular franchises.

@DarkwingLz The sad thing is the Xbox One may not need to do much more than the Xbox 360. As long as it puts out Titalfall, Halo, and other exclusives, and continues to be the platform of choice for games like Call of Duty, the masses will eat it up.

The problem I see with PS4 and X1 is that the gameplay is overall the same. Gran Turismo 6-10 and Forza 5-10 are going to be about 98% I would say. Look at all NBA, NFL, NHL sports games, it's the same overall. I'm betting in a year from now, Playstation and Xbox will yet again cherry pick all the best Nintendo features, put it on their systems, and then people will call it "innovative". Since back in the day they have copied everything from the joystick on the controller and triggers to having avatars.

I'm honestly disappointed in the next gen so far with the twins, I had heard that they were supposed to produce images and graphics as good as James Cameron's Avatar movie. So far all I really see, is a higher capacity for less image compression. It's like watching the same movie on Blu-ray vs DVD. Sure it looks more slightly crisp on blu-ray, but it's still the same movie. Therefore the graphics, like on AC4, are the same on both new and legacy systems, the new systems simply offer it with less image compression. It's like saving a jpeg image at 80% vs 70% compression, the gap is not that huge a leap really.

I would say the real major improvement will be on producing better physics and particle effects, which is fine and all, but thats like saying I am going to the movies not to watch the actual movie, just the big explosions. It's losing focus on actual gameplay. That is going to make these systems stagnant.

More memory allows for players online as well, but whether I am playing with 8 people vs 16 people, it's hard to tell the difference between 8 vs 16 players at a certain point.

And with all that memory and processing power not being entirely focused on generating the game on screen, is disapointing as well. It's operating separate multiple os systems that honestly not all people will be using.

Overall though, its about games and gameplay, were it not for Nintendo, I would be worried about the road that PS4 and X1 are taking games toward.

@CountWavula I suppose that's your opinion, because I don't believe we've seen it all. You can still innovate without making drastic changes to controller schemes. Hell, look back at Mario Galaxy. That game completely rejuvenated the 3D platformer, and it didn't even use the wiimote's motion controls to do it.

And another realm in which we're not even close to seeing it all is when it comes to storytelling. You can repeat all day till you're blue in the face that gameplay comes first in video games, which it does. But that doesn't mean a game can't have both amazing gameplay and an amazing story, and I mean come on, who doesn't enjoy a good story? We're finally starting to see what can be accomplished in this regard with games like The Last of Us, and I expect games will continue to push storytelling this next generation because the improved hardware will allow developers to more easily do so.

I personally have absolutely no interest in PS4 or Xbox One right now. To me, all they appear to be are just shinier versions of PS3 and Xbox 360. My sister is the one who plays the non-Nintendo consoles and even she's not interested in the two consoles right now. I admit that I'm a purely Nintendo gamer, but that doesn't mean I'm a fanboy. The other consoles just don't have what interests me. The only game that interests me is Kingdom Hearts 3, and that's just one game. Bottom line; I sense that it's going to take the two some time to get notable games coming, just like Wii U. There's a boost in sales now, but eventually these PS4 and Xbox One consumers will have to make do.

Meanwhile, Wii U is a year ahead. It's been slow, but starting next year we will increasingly be getting more good games and Wii U will increasingly perform better. Wii U will be getting out of its drought as the rival consoles go through theirs'.

But right now, the smart choice is to go for a Wii U. While it might not have much, it does have a decent selection of games to choose from that appeals to all ages. It's also cheaper as well. Super Mario 3D World is a masterpiece that must be experienced; the arguably only must-have video game this Christmas season.

What justifies a launch for me is games...not highly reviewed games but games i want to play…

People will always prefer certain games or consoles but remember it's all about the games...so whichever console or games u choose to buy are and will be rightfully yours to make whenever u choose to make them whether it's at launch or later on down the line.

B4 graphics comes gameplay because that's what will keep me coming back to play again and again.

Whats the point in arguing personal choice but then again it is entertaining to read some of these comments…does anyone remember when games where just fun to play regardless of what platform it was on?…the good old days when games were just fun to play

I dont know, the WiiU has been out a year and its just now getting a decent amount of games. Sony has started out alright but i assure you within a year the ps4 will surpass Nintendo in terms of content, which is why i am way more excited about it. The games already announced for the ps4/xboxone are more interesting for me personally.

I think it's just about taste. Everyone has a different taste and what kind of games they like. I'm all for Nintendo this year but besides Link and Mario my interest are low.

Honestly I don't care about the graphical advance this generation offers, I'm more looking forward to how Kinect evolves and becomes an integral part of the Microsoft entertainment brand. Easily the most exciting thing next-gen has to offer for me.

@hylianhalcyon I was getting ready to write him a long post to counter the things he said, but you seem to have summed it up pretty good here. I agre with everything said here. I would add on to it, but it's tough writing a post on the phone for me.

@hylianhalcyon yeah story telling is good and all but big problem is with games like last of us uncharted assassin's Creed IMO they totally forget about the game play for instance uncharted 1-3 all feel exactly the same hell minus the zombies in tlou I thought I was playing uncharted I couldn't even finish tlou because I got extremely bored and most video game stories do story telling bad its nothing compared to a good book or even a Hollywood movie games should be about gameplay first I don't wanna pay $60 for a decent story the only games IMO that hit that in your face story telling was mass effect and the witcher games

@LDXD Long load times, dropping frame rate, and installation times/updates. All the problems of a new console. It will change, since it is a long term investment. Right now the console is not as ready as the Wii U was at launch (in my opinion). It needs some much needed work.

@CountWavula That Amanda Bynes line was cool. I'llhave to borrow that sometime. Anyway, I agree with some of what you said, but I can also boast that about the Wii U as well. I can't type everything I want because I'm doing this from phone with low battery. Anyway, I definitely have to disagree with the Wii U havingt the best launch out of the 3. XB1 has that through Killer Instinct, Ryse, DR3, and Forza 5. That's just 1st part. Using words like "annihilating" would be severely misleading to those that don't know what to choose. Again....at the end of the day, it's all preference.

As a gaming enthusiast, I don't want to limit myself to a single console. I currently own a Wii, Xbox 360, 3DS and Vita and planning on getting a Wii U and Xbox One (or possibly PS4) next year. Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze look amazing, but I also want to play the Final Fantasy, Fallout, Elder Scrolls games that are only available on Xbox/PlayStation/PC.

I may stick only with the WiiU this generation. I have a ps3 which is still relevant. I don't use it much for gaming more a media player. I could change my mind at any moment, and if I do I may lean towards the Xboxone this time around.

Guys new system $449 for PS4, new game $99, cont $99 and internet and add it up well what can i say they are still making ps3 and 360 games so why change. Its like DVD vs BR and I love DVD...As for nintendo well its true it fun and Im a fan boy so what can I say Im buying about 60% of the games that come out, why not!To me its like apple Ive always been told why buy an Iphone, its $$$ and so are the apps. Well you see i believe I will pay for what i get a fantastic product and value for money. Andriod samsung unit cost almost the same and you know 85% of the apps i have are free so you know what.Nintendo cos you know so!

I still haven't purchased a Wii U and I still haven't purchased a PS4 or Xbox One either. I've grown very tired of the majority of the games released in this generation and I have no desire to spend the high cost of these consoles to play more of the same that I already own - there's too much on the cosoles that I do own that I still want to play any ways.

Agreed. A lot of people are doubting the Xbox One and PS4's future success, but with the strong third-party support they'll no-doubt receive, both consoles will be successful. For instance, Grand Theft Auto 5 has already sold nearly 30 million copies for the 360 & PS3 combined. The Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy games are also strong sellers. Those of you who are hoping to see the Xbox One and PS4 die, don't get your hopes up. Besides, having 3 different consoles to choose from is a good thing.

@Dogpigfishyou joking right? considering the x1 and ps3 BOTH install & update in the background shows how out of the loop you are. you can even play while it installs. Wii u at launch was horrible. super slow OS & clunky bare bones mii verse, clunky e shop. The next gen systems are far superior at launch that wii u is now in that matter. I have a ps4 and have not noticed those long load times, frame rate problems you speak of. the thing i notice is how fast it actually is. those issues only remind me of various wii u games.

haha. i feel the exact same way. I'd be fine without the Wii U for another year considering the amount of Wii retail, WiiWare and VC games i have left to play! i've been gaming since the late 80's and i find myself becoming pickier and pickier these days, trying to avoid so many of these familiar cut and paste experiences with a new lick of paint. The Wii U game pad is is what clearly makes the wii u so special, even then it's a bit of a half-baked innovation considering so many people already have touch screen, dual screen and whatever I-gadgets they have laying around in thier house...VS the wii remote which was totaly exciting and unfamiliar, unlike anything anybody owned in their home during the time. Still it's that combination of using the gamepad with your HDTV that makes it different, getting that 2nd window into the gaming world ect ect.

Well... After experiencing both new consoles on multiple occasions at my buddy's house, I can safely say that the PS4 and Xbone are not really that much better than the previous generation, aside from a few technical upgrades, such as better anti-aliasing and whatnot. And when I say "not really much better", I mean experience-wise... You now have to pay for the once-free online on PS4, which I feel is pretty lame, as it is exactly what made the PS3 awesome to me... Next, graphics. SO FAR I haven't seen anything mind-blowing that my PC cannot do already (and before you say it, I'm not a PC Elitist, I'm an all-rounder who enjoys games of all forms.) I just don't feel like the PS4/Xbone is really that much of an upgrade. This gen I am sticking with 3DS, PC, Wii U, PS3 (for SMTIII, Persona 3/4 and the newly announced 5), and my NES

@CountWavula It's especially fantastic in Wind Waker HD manipulating inventory is great, and I love playing the Wind Waker itself with the touchscreen as well... It just feels so right! And if my fiance walks in to watch TV, well, a tap of the Minus button and away I go to off-screen play I love my Wii U.

There's a void of activity when it comes to the Wii-U's launch titles. If they were going to give an award away for most recycled experiences the Wii-U would win hands down. Since launch the eshop remains painfully filled with remakes and recycled virtual console titles. By far the biggest contributor for Wii-U games is Nintendo itself. That unfortunately is the damning reality of the situation. There's a limit to how much and how fast Nintendo can pump out these games. Outside of that we are left with long lulls of waiting for the "next" big release.

@BinaryFraggerNo one is wishing death on any console as far as I can see.

@B3ND3RI totally agree about the free online. At this point it's expected of Microsoft to have paid online, but Sony looks to be going against it's free online values that it had last gen. PS3 having free online was the sole reason I got it before the Xbox 360, which I got a year later.

Nintendo still has free online, so I'd bet they'll be trying their hardest to get the most out of that service so it can rival up against the other systems in terms of features.

Really though, alot of the features don't matter to me as long as I can game online. The social aspect doesn't mean that much to me.

I'm a lifelong Nintendo fan and will finally be picking up a Wii-U in the next week or two. My main issue is not with the console, it's with the fact that Nintendo seemed to stop talking to me... I was their advocate for years, but in an attempt to broaden their fan base they kind of put everyone else on the back burner.

I still love Nintendo, and the 3DS is far and away my favourite console on the market at the moment, I just wish Nintendo would try a little harder to actively bring people like myself back into their plans.

I've been inspired to share my Wii U joy as well this Christmas season! I also just bought a PS4, and make no mistake- I'm glad I bought it and look forward to many years of great games that are sure to grace the system over time. But as of now, I'd have to wholeheartedly agree with everything the author has stated. In fact, I tried the same games and also found Resogun to be the best experience, but as he said, that's nothing that couldn't have been done on the PS3 for sure. I refuse to pay recurring fees for online (and there is ZERO value in PS PLUS for me- I buy everything I want because I like to own a physical copy, and can't keep up with what I already have, much less play rented PLUS games in addition to those). So, for now at least, my PS4 will be in hibernation alongside my Vita until something worthwhile comes along.

Here's a tip of the glass to the Wii U's present, and to a hopeful future for the PS4 (I held out as long as I could, but I'm finally giving up on my Vita- bought like TWO games for it all year, and even those weren't special. STILL no western release info for FFX, and the only thing even remotely interesting that's on the way is a Borderlands 2 port, which of course I'll buy.... eh, can't win em all I suppose)

@URAmk2
I think the difference is, you don't pay a recurring fee for a NNID. Look, no one here is in any position to tell another gamer they're "wrong" for playing how they choose on what console they choose. There is no "right" and "wrong" console to game on. I think what he's trying to convey, is that not everyone sees value in PS PLUS. I know I don't. Doesn't mean it's a "bad" service. Doesn't mean it's "good" either. Just means some people think it's a good deal, others not so much.

I can quote from one of my friends who loves Sony and buys every new system at launch; this is what he said to me when I asked him how it was after his first night of playing the PS4 ... "Well, the graphics are great no doubt, but while I'm playing a couple of games I'm just stuck thinking to myself, 'ok. what new to gaming does this console even offer besides prettier graphics'. Even I'll admit, there's really nothing spectacular or innovative about it." --- thats a quote from him.He is an extreme hardcore Zelda fan as well, and no joking, he only, and I mean ONLY, buys Nintendo consoles when a new zelda is released and only for that reason.

@URAmk2I had PS+ on PS3. It makes alot more sense on PS4, but there was hardly any reason to buy it on PS3.

You aren't getting "free" games if you're paying for the subscription that gets them for you. You have to spend about as much as the subscription service itself to get the deals that it offers. Let's just say for example, that I buy 2 $50 at 50% off. I'm still paying $50 on top of that $50 I initially spend to get that deal. If you don't spend more money, than the money you spent is wasted.

That's why it makes more sense as it is now, because there's literally no reason to be paying for an optional service that lets you borrow games.If they let you keep those games, THEN they are free.

@URAmk2 Of course, you're right. I made up something like that, rather than making up something completely overly dramatic and over the top. I should put more effort in my 'fake stories' I suppose. Bravo, good sir! You are just too pro.

@URAmk2I would like to reply concerning your statement regarding Wii U: I just don't understand why anytime someone says they're not a fan of PS, someone responds in turn by insulting Wii U. I don't see the relevance of the Wii U if speaking about the PS, nor do I see why you would try to insult the Wii U with a "tit for tat" response.

For the record, as I would like to clarify, the Wii U's online is perfectly fine. I use it every day. Now, if one wishes to argue that the Wii U lacks party chat, that's one thing, but personally I don't see how Wii U features are relevant in the discussion, unless trying to "one up" a Nintendo fan, which seems rather childish to me.

Nonetheless, even a lack of party chat has not been an issue in the slightest, as every single game that provides online play, also provides chat. So the issue is rather null, and only serves as a cookie cutter bullet point when trying to condescend to Wii U owners. There are many "features" like backwards compatibility and free online that PS4/Xbox One doesn't have, so it's going to be a long night if we engage in a "your console doesn't do this" debate.

I believe most of you people are altering what it means to be a "hardcore" gamer.Myself, I play mostly my 3DS these days, and yes I would classify myself as a hardcore gamer. I have played games for years, owned most consoles and enjoyed the games that I played.What it means to be hardcore is to play whatever game it is that you play, and discover all the secrets, 100% everything, and enjoy the nuances to be found each game. A person who can master the green demon challenge in Mario 64 is just as hardcore as the person who can understand the physics of their favorite sports or racing game enough to find their own niche group to want to play it with. Or even people who can master hundred hit combos in fighting games.Then there is the casual side of gaming, where you just play to have fun and complete the story, as opposed to 100%ing the entire game. Games like Mario, where most people don't really care about completing the game 100% and getting every little thing. Kids and whatnot.Like you can compare me to my brother. We both play pokemon, and we both battle with our respective friends. The difference being my friends and I EV and IV train, and he and his don't. That is the difference between hardcore and casual. Spending hours to master the craft of a game. That is something that can be done across all genres of video games, not just shooters.That is why this "hardcore vs casual" and "nintendo vs shooters" is a pointless argument, and each and every one of you engaging yourselves in that argument is wasting your time.Now, what a real gamer would do, is ignore all the press, good or bad, and just enjoy the hell out of their favorite game.Me? I'm currently playing Etrian Odyssey on my 3DS, and by no means is that game a casual game. See you all, my fellow gamers.

@URAmk2 8 months was a figure I kinda pulled out of my wazoo, but 1 game isn't really enough. They need to string together a few stellar titles. Don't get me wrong, I want XB/PS4 to do well, but at the moment, and with my situation, I haven't paid much attention to their upcoming titles.

Destiny looks interesting. None of the other titles have caught my attention.

@URAmk2You're right. Those games don't have voice chat, and I certainly wish Sonic Racing did, because I play that game from time to time (I own over THIRTY Wii U games, you'll have to forgive me if I don't remember all of their online capabilities).

My point is, so what? So what those games don't have online? What's your point, is what I'm asking. Are you trying to say because those two games don't have online, Wii U is no longer a valid console and all should bow before your superior gaming console of choice? THAT'S my point.

You're looking for ways to prove Wii U is inferior, and that's childish. Again, I can name a LONG LIST of features PS4 doesn't have that Wii U does, so if you have the time I certainly have nothing else to do, though I'd prefer to spend my time debating something of SUBSTANCE, instead of finger pointing another gamer's console of choice as inferior.

The 4K argument is moot. According to something Ive read (which Im too lazy to find right now), the human eye's resolution cannot tell the difference between HD and 4K unless you sit like less than 3 feet away from it. Which is probably not worth the cash.

And Damien is coming across as a person who is forcing himself not to like anything that doesn't have Nintendo's name on it.He will feel this way in December 2014, even after the PS4 and the XB1 get a lot more games from companies that are more experienced with the hardware.Needless to say, I will heed nothing this guy types from now on.

@SCAR392wow your logic is so flawed. lol! dude that was one of the worst examples in history. anything you buy at a discount on ps plus is yours to to keep even after it runs out. you dont have to spend any money to get great value out of it. the fact that people get to play games to completion through plus saves a ton of money alone. games i didn't have to buy or rent. and considering no one actually pays msrp for plus just adds to that. ive never payed more than $30.

@JaxonHi never said the wii u is inferior. im just pointing out it's issues. no need to get defensive. if you think im wrong by all means voice your opinion.

@Royalblues He's coming across as a person who legitimately doesn't enjoy the PS4 as much as the Wii U. Just because someone actually dares to enjoy a Nintendo console more than Playstation, you're going to disregard them completely? Really?

You act as if everyone in the world is SUPPOSED to like the PS4 more, and if a person doesn't, there's obviously something wrong with them. And don't judge a person by actions they haven't committed yet. It's NOT 2014. But even if it was, everyone has the right to enjoy what they enjoy. And just because PS4 will get a bazillion games, doesn't speak one ounce for the QUALITY THEREOF. And to many, myself included, no games match the fun of 1st party Nintendo games. So no matter how many games the other consoles get, or power, or features, they'll never measure up.

@URAmk2
No it's not. As soon as you start borrowing games from PS+, your money automatically loses value.

I understand you get to keep the games that you buy on discount. My point was that the games you get off of PS+ are not free, which is all the more reason to be confused about why people are labelling them as free,

They might as well give you a less amount of games that you can keep, or give better discounts. If the games aren't worth keeping, then why pay for the a subscription service that gives them to you for a limited time?

@bezerker99 I could say the same thing about nintendo and its loading time for every single task, like opening setting or opening anything, its slow as hell. I play AC right now and it dont have much more loading time then say MH. This article is sort of biased.

I love all these "he doesn't worship PS4 as his god like the rest of us do, there's something wrong with him and we should ignore him" comments. Oh, and the "if you don't like Game X then you're obviously a fanboy" comments.

Not once stopping to consider the fact that NOT EVERYONE LIKES THE SAME THINGS! Doesn't mean something's wrong with you. Doesn't mean you're a fanboy (seriously, that's about the worst abuse of that word I've seen in a LONG time). I hate GTA. I hate it! One of the dullest, most shallow, boring games I've ever played. Uh oh, guess I'm a fanboy for saying that. Or something's just wrong with me.

@SkywardLink98Just because the Wii U isn't as powerful as PS4/Xbox One, doesn't mean gamers who enjoy the Wii U don't know what good graphics are, and cant' judge for themselves what's impressive and what's not. Wii U never advertised itself as the second coming with all this RAM and a giant leap into the next generation. So people weren't expecting the amazing.

PS4 and Xbox One, on the other hand, did just that. So naturally, that's what people expected. Then they buy one and find out, to their disappointment, that the impressive visuals just aren't that impressive, as advertised anyways (of course they look good and are more than acceptable to me, but they didn't knock my socks off I can tell you that- besides, graphics are only graphics and only add so much to the experience- it's the GAME that entertains)

@SCAR392wow.... just wow dude. your logic is horrible. PLEASE explain how getting free games makes the membership lose value? it seems like you never used plus. you get a bonus discount on already discounted items on top of the free games ect.

@JaxonHi never said that. there are various factors on why he is a high level fanboy that others have also pointed out. actually mario 3d is the only reason i would tell anyone to ever get a wii u right now. so my statement stands.

@LDXD I'm guessing you enjoy Mario, smash bros, and zelda, and nintendo's series in general. It's just as easy to say that they never change and are exactly the same each time. Of course an entry in a series is going to have similar gameplay to previous entries. Arguing about games is a matter of opinion and will get us nowhere. You can say The Last of Us forgot about the gameplay, but me and the millions of others who bought and loved it will say otherwise.

As for story, yeah most games don't have a very good story. That was my point, that storytelling is getting better and better in games. Not merely by traditional means either. Journey tells quite a story with not a single word spoken in the game. I personally love to pay money for a game that can have good gameplay, yet can simultaneously tell a tale. As for Hollywood movies, the majority of them aren't very good at telling stories either. xD

@URAmk2 Can I explain why are you even talking to a person that probably NEVER in his life never played PS3 it's like talking to a brick wall also why is JaxonH so desperate over this argument despite your opinion jesus why hate GTA and other consoles like that its called PREFERENCE. I see why the Nintendo community gets attacked often over biased and off topic "hate" comments like this.

@URAmk2In my opinion, people are confusing fanboy for a fan with a preference. I've seen fanboys, and they're not logical or rational. Damien is a very logical and rational person. He just prefers his games a certain way (as we all do). He likes Wii U more than PS4 and doesn't like GTA5. Doesn't make him a fanboy. I know that doesn't mesh with your own preferences, but I just don't see anything "fanboy" about him.

LOL the guy that wrote this has on a powerglove and nintendo virtual boy in his avatar, he is a nintendo fanboy.Biased as hell review of everything.

I have both consoles. PS4 loads up 50x faster, loads between store, apps, games and any other menu instantly and it only takes time to load the game the 1st time you play it since you are installing it to the hard drive. That takes 30-60 seconds usually and then each time you play after that the game loads in 5-10 seconds.

Wii U always takes a long time to install anything, much longer.

The graphics difference is huge in games that are on both systems and its why 3rd party devs dont even bother with the Wii U for the most part.

PS4 gave me 6-7 FREE games on launch day, more value already than Wii U has given me in over a year.

PS4 also plays movies better as there are more options. You can also stream music in the background while in any game and control it also while in game.

The PS4 motion system is leaps and bounds above Wii U because PS4 uses a camera system to make it track your movement and your controller precisely with exact pinpoint precision. Wii U still uses the old wii sensor bar....

With that same camera you can instantly save gameplay footage, pictures/videos and upload to facebook, twitter or twitch, etc. You can also give voice commands in games and menus and use it to talk in online games.

I have both consoles, the Wii U is inferior in every way, but they still have some MUST HAVE games like Mario 3D world, but PS4 will dominate it this generation as far as a more advanced piece of technology, more powerful and versatile and also will have tons more games and freebies for their customers.

Also, my nephews are 3 and 5 and everytime they come over the house )4-5 times since ive had the ps4) they say "put on the robot game" and go wild with playroom because they can interact on the camera hitting and playing with virtual robots. They also love Wii U, but since I got PS4 they ask to play that little "game" more than anything else. I bought them the new skylanders for Wii U for xmas, I know they will love that!

@GunstarHero234
No desperation here dude. I'm just commenting. It's what you do in a comment section. And there's alot to comment on, seeing as ONE article written about a person's preference of Wii U over PS4 has spawned an entire legion of Sony loyalists to ambush the site with anti-Wii U, anti-Damien, and anti-Nintendo posts. I read something I know is bs logic, I call the person on it. I may do it with an adamant ferver, but that's not the same as desperation.

What gets me is I own all of Sony's consoles just like I own all of Nintendo's. I am a Nintendo fan, make no mistake, but I'm not a Nintendo-only gamer by any means, and hold no allegiance to any one company. Yet, it's always people who favor Nintendo who get attacked. Someone says they like PS4 the most, it's no big deal. Someone says they like Wii U more, all hell breaks loose. And as long as that's the case, I'll be here giving my input like I always do.

@SNES4Life You get 40+ free games a year for $30 a year of PS Plus. Black friday it was only $30, so I have 2 years now of it for only $60. IN that time I will get at least 75 free games, well worth it.

@JaxonH LOL ambush really....... the point i'm getting is people are called FANBOYS for buying a console of choice on launch day which to me is sad now this so called "war" over Sony and Nintendo isn't a factor here which I see a BS post over a 2 systems of preference again which I have and love my Wii U but cannot love my PS4 either???

@hylianhalcyon of course I enjoy Zelda Mario ect so should every one else on this site but I also enjoy other games some even more just look at my avatar. Yes lots of people enjoy last of us I'm not trying to knock it but even some major reviewers agree with me and you can't tell me that there is much difference in game play between last of us and uncharted you also can't tell me that the gameplay is different at all between uncharted 1-3 its damn near identical
What I can say is that anyone who thinks that every Mario or every Zelda is the same hasn't played the games much if at all I can take you all the way back to the late 80s and you can see the difference between the legend of Zelda and adventures of link its a major difference so is a link between worlds some much different gameplay wise than a link to the past almost every metroid completely different some in major ways most of them are the only games that suffer from being the same old thing is the nsmb games
My point mainly is that yes I do very much enjoy a good story but gameplay should come first always. To many games last gen fell into the category of " if you played one you've played them all" and I sure hope this generation is different but so far it isn't not by a long shot and I sure hope the next uncharted is more than just a pretty game but it seems like that's all people care about I've been gaming for around 30 years and last gen was by far the worse IMO on all systems with the exception of a few games I would have been bored to death

@GamerJunkie
Here's the catch- Wii U is inferior in every way TO YOU, not to everyone.
I don't care how many features you list Wii U does slower, or doesn't have, or how many less consoles it sold. Since when did you start letting console sales make the almighty determination of what's the best console? By that standard, Wii was by far the best console out of the 7th gen. Oh, you disagree? You should! Because popularity and sales mean NOTHING.

PS4 doesn't have the one thing in the world that matters most- the BEST GAMES. And unless the PS4 is now playing Wii U discs, MY opinion is that the PS4 is inferior in every way.

See what I did there? I stated my opinion as an OPINION. Instead of parading it around as a fact that everyone needs to accept, then getting frustrated because those stupid Nintendo fans just don't see it your way.

@PhatosaurusDid you even read the article? like the first thing he says is that he does things for sony and microsoft blogs too.

Anyways, graphics mean nothing. Aesthetics are what matters, and that's limited by only the developer's creativity. Which is why games make a system, not the system's specs. And right now the WiiU has all the good games.

Also, with the all better graphics and stuff going on in the next gen consoles, i'm sure a lot of devs are just going to focus on making the most realistic graphics as possible, which is lead to bland, neutral colored COD knock-offs, while Nintendo will continue to release aesthetically pleasing games, like Wind Waker HD and Wonderful 101. I'm not saying hd games can't look good, but because of the nature of most of them (fps and "survival horror" games" things are are all brown and black and boring.

i'm not saying that a game has to look good to be good though, my main reason for saying this is to explain my logic for why i think graphic capabilities don't matter (look at the vita and 3ds, vita is way more powerful than the 3ds and yet 3ds got best selling console for like 6 months straight)

I'm beginning to question why I come here. I came because I heard Nintendo fans weren't as childish or arrogant as Sony, Microsoft and PC. Big mistake.

Not only do they trash a system they haven't even touched, they make up stories about other companies.

The PS4 from what I've seen is amazing. It's like people are forgetting what PlayStation has done with the PS3 over the years. From inFamous (which was horrible graphically) ( to Uncharted 2 and 3, which looked stellar, to the Last of Us which was simply amazing, and this was just using 512mb).

Of course launch titles aren't WOW, neither was the Wii U's but now it's pumping out games like SM3DW.

Any game or system spec that isn't on their system of choice, is somehow inferior or stupid.

This is kinda pathetic how this community are hating on the other consoles and thinking the Wii U is so "Perfect" like JaxonH says he can give all the problems the PS4 has I can do the same for the Wii U but I won't because I don't really give a damn as long I can play me some games that's what matters. I hope the next time I come on here people can be a little more sane.

@JaxonH No Wii U is inferior as a fact in every technology and power chart you can compare with.

Now as for which games are the best, that is my opinion and yours. I choose both because I love games on both systems. But I have both machines here in my room and can easily see which one loads faster, has the better UI, is more powerful, has more features, PS4 is the best in all of that fact.

The PSBox4One doesn't have anything that I can't already play on my PC and look better, and with PSBox4One's PC-like architecture, it's likely that more games will be ported to the PC.

The Wii U itself has and will have games can only be experienced on the Wii U. Sony was showing promise with some Nintendo-like exclusives like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper, but now it seems like they're joining Microsoft in the Boobs, Blood, and Guns-only niche.

Plus, why would I bother playing any shooter with sluggish dual analog sticks when Wiimote+Nunchuck and Mouse+Keyboard do it so much more elegantly?

@GunstarHero234The only people on here "hating" other consoles are the droves of Sony fans that have littered this comment section with anti-Nintendo remarks. The mere fact a person that proposes the notion that they can and DO enjoy the Wii U just as much DESPITE it not having all the fancy smancy features, gets labelled as blasphemy and fanboyism, speaks volumes. I don't HATE PS4, I bought one!

But I still have preference of Wii U over the PS4. Could that change later? of course. But right now, I prefer Wii U. No hate in that comment. And I didn't go out of my way to trash the PS4, UNLIKE everyone else here who is really going the extra mile to tell every Ninteno fan JUST HOW INFERIOR the Wii U is to PS4. Wake up to what you guys are posting.

@URAmk2 I just don't see the appeal, I'm entitled to an opinion to me the PS4 just doesn't appeal to me as a gamer... As in, it doesn't really have anything that I personally want to play. If you like it that's great, but all the games I want are coming out on Wii U, PC, 3DS and PS3 (Persona 5)... I'm also still buying NES carts, so I'm a very happy gamer

@JaxonH Did I say the Wii U was inferior??? NO I stated was that this fight is insane over nothing just IGNORE these people man come on. If you love the Wii U more that's ok man but like I said the Wii U isn't perfect either no system is. I have people hating on me for buying the PS4 I don't care because I bought the system on investment which I know it has a future.

Who's to say those inferiorities aren't just as oppressive as those you listed against Wii U? No one can. Why? Because it's all preference. You say it's all a gamer's preference, but then turn around and declare Wii U as an inferior system like it's a fact. There are inferiorities on BOTH SIDES. It comes down to preference. Why can't people accept this, instead of trying to convince the world THEIR preference is the right one? Why can't a person just say hey, I like the PS4 the most because of A, B and C. But it's cool you like Wii U most cause of D, E and F...

I say practice what you preach. You rail on the single-system fans who defend Nintendo. Well, they wouldn't NEED to defend Nintendo in the first place if everyone wasn't on here attacking the Wii U and declaring how sorry it is. Say it's dumb to only play one console (and I agree, unless finances prevent you from doing so of course). I say it's also dumb to rail on Nintendo fans who like the Wii U most. Let them like what they like. You know what you like best, they know what they like best. I never insult a Sony console because I know how personal Sony fans take it. Well, be mindful in return.

You KNOW you're stirring up the pot when you intentionally post derogatory comments about Wii U in order to prove how wrong Nintendo fans are for not liking the PS4 as much as you. So why do it?

@GamerJunkie hmm interesting but does the ps4 play and load Nintendo games faster than the Wii u ? See how irrelevant your argument is? But then you claim that the person who wrote this article is a moron and you missed the whole entire point of the article
You also keep mentioning power and better tech in the same sentence as the ps4 why? Seriously why is that so important? I'm still going to get a ps4 when GAMES I want are available but my lesser PC which is a damn laptop makes the ps4 look like a child's toy so power isn't anything and more power wouldn't make games that Nintendo creates any better considering they are arguably the best of the best at development and optimization. You think if Nintendo released 3d world on the ps4 it would be any better than what it is now?

@GunstarHero234 Oh, of course it has downsides. Never said it didn't. And if I came off that way, it's not what I intended. I'm not trying to convince the world the Wii U is better. I'm just trying to defend Wii U owners, so everyone stops talking to us like we're second class gamers for not preferring the PS4 most. That's all. And that is how I feel too. All the time on gaming sites. Constant insults against us for preferring Nintendo. I just wanna be looked upon and treated as an equal gamer, not as the "stupid gamer who chose the inferior console" followed by the usual list of features Wii U doesn't have, as if I didn't know already.

As much as the Wii U launch title list left something lacking, it is still the best of all three.The only good exclusive for Xbox One is Dead Rising 3, and the multis aren't that great.Despite not having the processing power, most Wii U titles look more attractive to me as it's not just pixel power or frame rates that makes something look good or not, and that's even if a title makes the most of the power.

@GunstarHero234 In that case, it would be better to buy when there are those games you really want, as the console would be cheaper as well as any launch titles or other titles you may want, and you know a lot more what to expect when you buy.I'm waiting for a year until I decide whether to get a PS4 or Xbox One to sit alongside my Wii U, that way I will know more and I will be more likely to be happy with my decision and save money at the same time.

So many Sony fan boys on a Nintendo site. I figured this would be generally positive comments but you know. A Sony fan boy will tell you that the PS4 is the best thing specs wise but the reality is that it seems pretty mediocre as a PC gamer. Any "free" games with PlayStation plus is not free, you have to buy a subscription whether you buy it before the console or after. Get off this site if you have nothing good to say whether there is a positive article like this one or a negative one.

Or it could be the usual trolls. Stop the comments guys, you are feeding them.

I still think it's dumb that the extreme fanboys who blasted wii u at launch are now sitting there with almost the same situation and they're all "the games are coming soon, we swear!!!" Yet just a year ago they were making fun of wii u owners and acting like their console launch would be perfect and loaded with super exclusives... I guess people forget how barren console launches are for the first few months...

@JaxonH Dude WTF......we play video games this isn't a movement. We all grew on Nintendo not everybody probably on this site but the you and me ok. I have no beef with a company that gave me the happiness and joy to enter the world of gaming but nowadays in my opinion sometimes Nintendo just isn't the same company I grew up on which is my opinion and all I have to end this comment with is it's Nintendo problem not yours don't stress yourself out over this if you love the BEST of Nintendo first party titles etc hell give it a whirl and ignore this ignorance of the internet man.

@GamerJunkie you also say smart gamers get more than one system and enjoy them all but you have to remember this is an expensive hobby that's getting more expensive not everyone can do that like me and you. Can't blame them for defending the system they choose when you say its inferior to them it may not be if that's the only games they like

@SNES4Life I would like to know what the list of AMAZING titles the Wii U has coming our for sure next year? Aside from Bayo 2, SSB, MK8 and DK: Again… what is there? that's 4 games for the whole year. I love my Wii U, but there are not a whole lot of big titles coming to the console in 2014 as of right now. I'm not saying that those won't be AMAZING, because they surely will, but what else is there that has been confirmed for next year? X doesn't even have a full name or release yet, FE x Shin Megami is in limbo as far as I can tell… no news in the gaming world, is not good news. I'm really hoping that on the 7th at the VGX Reggie shows off the final name for X and gives us something else to get fans and nay-sayers alike rethinking their abstinence from the Wii U. I hope it also entices devs to bring more titles to the console. I'm more excited for the great indie lineup headed to the Wii U next year than any of the big name titles so far, at least we know they will come out in some semblance of a timely manner. I want the Wii U to bury the competition, but I got a PS4 because I know I won't have that kind of money next year when the games start coming, thank God for preorders and the ability to pay them off in advance!

@GunstarHero234 No reason to act as if I'm crazy for my post. It's perfectly simple: Nintendo fans take a ton of abuse from Sony and MS fans. ALOT MORE than visa versa. I'm a grown man, not a kid, and I'm explaining to you my reasoning behind my argument. No need for the little "civil rights" remark.

I agree with this article completely! The Wii U and it's current library of games is far better than the Sony and MS launch offerings, but isn't that to be expected with a launch? I expected it. But right now the Wii U's library, if that's what you are basing your purchase off of, is the better choice in this market.

@Senario exactly! Just a year ago they were attacking wii u owners CONSTANTLY, and now that they are in the same boat they all of a sudden are fighting to their last breath to convince everyone the PS4/Xbone will in fact have games xD I mean, come on, this happens EVERY launch, games delay and we have to wait for the best stuff, like X and SSB

Capcom and Konami's lack of wii U support makes me cry pixel waterfall tears, but eh....No real big loss considering both company has been selling out western style & sucking hard for the past 4 years. Mega Man 9 & Zack & Wiki were the two last capcom greats imo.

And I would venture to guess that you can mark Zelda U down for a Holiday 2014 release as Nintendo's big gun next Nov/Dec. They were "almost" ready to show it this past E3, so they'll be pretty far along by the time they reveal it at E3 2014.

That's quite a few right there, but we all know how Nintendo likes to surprise release games at the last minute, so nothing would surprise me at this point. Nintendo's pretty steady at churning out the software- they don't exactly pump them out, but they are pretty reliable with the number of titles they release each year. I'm just biding my time until the next Metroid- whether 3DS or Wii U, I NEED that game!

@CountWavula I was greatly pleased with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate however I do wish Capcom would get their act together.. A console Phoenix Wright with 3D models and HD would rock! Hopefully Inafune-San will provide another epic title with M#9.

@CountWavula Capcom made Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for both wii U and 3DS, they are allowing megaman in smash (cause they won't use him otherwise lol), Phoenix Wright got a localization, Resident evil was on 3DS and Wii U(albiet the console version being multiplat), and of course Monster Hunter 4. I would say their support of Nintendo in general as "good".

Oh and apparently ducktales remastered and the D&D game? I can't speak for Konami sadly but hey at least Capcom is doing somewhat right.

PS. Have to agree that Capcom sold out to the west and ruined Devil May Cry for me ):. But hey, as long as they have something else I like then I can simply not support the things I don't like. Sorry "Dante".

@B3ND3RI don't think so, since Nintendo stated earlier they plan to reveal Zelda U at E3 2014. I wouldn't count on a new reveal (though it is possible)- it'll most likely be DKC Tropical Freeze footage, seeing as that's their next big release.

@JaxonH Dude i'm african american myself so i'm sorry for the remark though I'll erase it and secondly I never treated you like you was a kid or think you as crazy.......-_- I was forming a mature comment which I have grammer nazi and other people hating me or calling me a troll for a GAME CONSOLE of my choice on a Nintendo Site which is even more pathetic.

I am very very shortsighted, thus no, for me, there is no difference in how games look between PS4/XBONE and PS3/360. Besides I've seen the evolution of games since Atari 8bits, there had to be a point where you really can't make something look that much better, for me that point is now. If you can see the difference, awesome, not sarcasm here, really, that is cool.

Apart from that, all consoles have good things, that is why they all have fanboys, even PC; it is all about what YOU like. I don't like realistic graphics, nor shooting gameplay, so XBONE is not for me, yet there are a couple of games I'd gladly play on it, like Crimson Dragon and the upcoming Project Spark. For PS4, I would totally enjoy Knack, is totally down my alley, even if it is not perfect, and Resogun looks amazing! But, still not enough to make me spend that much money on a new console. Most of WiiU games are from genres and have visuals I like, so I bought one.

I don't like to play on PC, and a good desktop is still a bit more expensive than a console. That said it is still the best option for gamers that like top graphics and frame rate, and that are tech savvy. I don't care for any of that, a matter of taste.

So, I chose the console that had what I liked the most, not the BEST, because there is no such a thing.

@Twilight_Crow I personally like PC but I would say we aren't complete fanboys as a rule. We just dislike misinformation esp about specs as it is flat out lying. PS and Xbox have a purpose for those not willing to look up PC stuff or to those who are fans of the exclusives but to those who are willing to look/research a good gaming PC is actually about 500-600$ to assemble. So without online fees and steam sales it is more of a high initial cost but low long term cost thing.

I like the graphics but it is actually the PC exclusive games that are amazing fun to me.

Oh and everything is Multiplat now and will only continue to do so in the near future. So there is that.

I don't get it. This is just a guy's opinion. If he thinks the Wii U a great pick right now, then good for him. Whatever games you like is what system you should buy. If you like Nintendo games, then a Wii U is a great choice. If you like third party games, then a XB1 or PS4 is a great choice. I don't see what all the fuss is about.

@URAmk2 Troll? Nope, I assumed you were one yourself earlier I'm just a naturally happy gamer... Read my previous posts and you shall see. Sometimes I do stupid things, but come on, everyone does that sometimes. Writing me off as a troll is pretty ignorant. And yes, I do get out of the house every day for school and work... Okay, enough about me, this is a game site, not a "harass and tell Bender he needs to get a life" site... That was IGN, where I told everyone Persona would hit the 3DS a good five months ago, then I got downvoted to the point of being banned xD now it's officially announced and I feel obligated to go back and say "I told you so" but can't since I'm banned... Oh yeah, and it's Chief, not Cheif

@JaxonH I agree with you on metroid, that needs to happen yesterday! but I was only stating games that we know are coming out next year. You listed some that haven't seen any information for them since January of 2013. Watch Dogs is not exclusive though, I do have that one preordered on the Wii U though , I don't think that higher res is gonna make that game any more awesome than it already will be.

@JaxonH We can dream... Since it was so close to being ready at E3. I am kinda hoping it's another X trailer with an official release date and name, since that's my most anticipated game at the moment other than the two upcoming Persona titles.

@Senario You are right about exclusives, that is why I also have my eyes on Valve's console project. The Steam Machines could really change the world for me. So many awesome games I don't play because I just don't like playing on a PC, as I said just a matter of taste.

@Unit_DTH I understand Metroid has it's fans but I'm still not completely sold on the idea that it is needed right now to increase the install base.

But to be fair I didn't expect the latest Fire Emblem game to do that well since not only had it gone through a rough patch lately (as a huge fire emblem fan I know that it had) but it traditionally hadn't sold well. So I'm in the camp of "I hope they announce anything worthwhile" rather than a specific game.

which is why Microsoft has been building its first party studios and funding development from second party studios as well. People seem to forget that Sony Worldwide studios didn't get to the size or pedigree till the middle of the last console generation. Microsoft has pretty much turned the ship around with the only real detractor being the pricing,

Beyond that there really aren't any other advantage that at least the Wii U has other than pricing. So for the time being i'm thinking the console wars will shape up as PS4>Xbone>Wii U.

@Senario You're actually probably right. Metroid has traditionally moved between one and two million copies per release, even Other M. So it's pretty consistent. With Wii U's install base as is, I would be surprised, no, I would be amazed if it even hit 1 million.

Having said that, I don't wish for releases to bolster Wii U sales, I wish for releases I wanna play! Wii U will sell whatever it's gonna sell. I wish it well but, that's for Nintendo to worry about. I just want that game...

@Senario I can respect that. I agree with you about the whole "anything worth while", but hopefully something new. I mean it's been a while since Nintendo themselves, not including W101 in this, has really given us a new franchise on their home consoles. Wii Fit doesn't completely qualify in my book. New and exciting games that fully utilize the hardware are the games that really excite me and they are the ones that I anxiously await.

@B3ND3Ryou openly admit that you say stupid things for no reason, but your not a troll? im pretty sure thats what a troll is. anyone that doesn't know your internet behavior would think so. ill take your word for it. you sure are a wacky one though

@shingi_70 Well, it depends on the person... For me the Wii U is better than both the other two, but that's just me after playing all three first-hand for decent amounts of time... Besides, Nintendo and Sony aren't necessarily at "war" with each other. Miyamoto himself was excited for PS4 and all the games they showed at E3. I see Nintendo as the father and PS/MS are two rowdy kids trying to see who's bigger and badder, and Nintendo just watches at a safe distance.

@GunstarHero234 You liked Other M?! That's incredible, I thought I was the only one! I really enjoyed it. I felt like the story brought Samus into the realm of being a vulnerable human and that made the experience that much better for me. Or maybe you were being sarcastic, either way I loved that game! i did enjoy the Prime series though, so I guess I'm an anomaly. Fine with me.

@URAmk2 A troll is someone who sits there on a Nintendo site just to bash it because they prefer Sony or Microsoft I'm not doing that in the least... Wacky isn't really a word I'd use to describe myself xD although my fiance may agree Plus a troll wouldn't admit to being stupid occasionally xD

I thought Other M was definitely a good game. Not necessarily a great game, but a worthy game nonetheless. I didn't understand the hate it got either. I mean sure, there were a few things it could've done better but, taken as a whole, it was a good game.

My main complaint was switching the Wiimote from sideways to pointing at the screen for missiles. I think if they just had a Wiimote and Nunchuk as default control scheme, not only would you have analogue instead of D-pad, you'd have more buttons, AND the Wiimote would already be pointed at the screen, so you could just "hold C" or "hold Z" for missile mode.

I did enjoy the Prime series though- I thought they were all great games. Matter of fact, I can't think of a Metroid game I haven't liked.

I think the Wii U install base will only grow when gamers mature past the point of blind fandom, but that may never happen. When their are enough must have Nintendo exclusives on the platform that really show what the console can do, it will thrive… or at least be as successful as the gamecube.

@JaxonH All in due time. Nintendo can relax and try more risky projects (that sell less) once the install base is decent enough. That is why mario Kart, Smash, and 3D world are announced but metroid isn't. It'll get there eventually, Metroid isn't a series they can't come up with ideas for like F-Zero. Although I'd be thrilled if Capt Falcon made an appearance in Mario kart for a Cameo.

In terms of new franchises I would say from personal experience that Xenoblade Chronicles is an amazing first step into the JRPG world for Nintendo(monolith is owned by them yay!).

@shingi_70 Well I think that is all opinion. I could easily say PC > Wii U > Xbox 1 = PS4. And the reason I say that is because I can get everything on the last two consoles on PC but the Wii U is the only one that compliments rather than tries to fight directly against PC. And yes, I do consider a PC a console. Now depending on how the Steambox turns out it would be PC > Steambox = Wii U > PS4 = Xbox one.

On the topic of other M, it's problem was not the gameplay but the writing. When you make a game that tries to put significant story elements you either make a decent story with really good gameplay, or a very good story and kinda ok-good gameplay. And Metroid other M was kinda good gameplay with really bad story. The entire changing of Samus' character was one of the big gripes I've heard about as she has always been this lone wolf and really strong bounty hunter. But hey, just going off what I've heard of the game as the Metroid games aren't my thing besides the 2D sidescrolling ones like Metroid Fusion.

I got my wii u at the start of February as a birthday gift from my wife and mother, because its what I wanted. If I didnt have it id buy it this Christmas provided I was wanting to buy a system this Christmas. As much as I love my wii u I will be buying a ps4 as i have always owned sony systems next to my Nintendo consoles since sony broke into the market. However I will not be buying a ps4 til its been out about 10 months.

I also believe that the 3DS and Wii U integration, as limited as it is right now, is going to help the Wii U and Nintendo in general. It's a slow and steady move into the now uber-connected social internet craze. In time I think we will have some type of cross game chat implementation and possibly the ability to start our own Miiverse communities… I can hope right?

The major complaint leveled against Other M was its story. Me, I can brush aside character contradictions and just keep plowing through the game- doesn't really bother me. Others it bothered a lot though. Guess it boils down to what's most important to you in a game.

With regard to Prime, the number one misconception I hear about it is that it's like a FPS. Which is not even remotely true (as anyone who's played it knows). It is in first person, but that's where the similarities stop. It's still very much the same exploration and solitary atmosphere as previous entries- just done in a first person perspective. I found Prime to have more in common with platformers than FPS...

@GunstarHero234 did you even play prime it was nothing like cod in fact it wasn't even a fps It was way more of a metroid game than other m which was way to liner to be considered that's just my opinion I respect yours Thing is I think other m had potential I just couldn't stand how liner it was

@LDXD "No I played COD and thought it was Prime on Gamecube" Seriously though I played the game man after growing up on Metroid on a 2D plane I couldn't even get myself to play the FPS one even though I tryed plenty of times. The game just wasn't my cup of tea but Other M in the other hand that caught my eye sadly the game will never have a sequel thanks to the community not liking it (RIP Wonderful 101/ZombiU).

@GunstarHero234 yeah I can understand I guessI grew up on the original metroid is my favorite game series of all time prime felt just like metroid just in first person other m I think would have been so much better if handled by Nintendo themselves team ninja made it feel like a straightforward action game

I was talking mostly my thoughts on sales. Other than that I agree that its due to preference about what systems it will do well. I've seen it all through the comments with the back and fourth between them.

I'd say Other M's problem was it wasn't sure what it wanted to be. The gameplay and story were at odd's with each other. It had fast paced Team Ninja gameplay that didn't mesh well with the more personal story they were trying to tell. They didn't know if they wanted a Halo, a regular Metroid, or a prime game so they tried to do it all at once and it failed.

@shingi_70 Gotcha, and yes, sales-wise I can understand... And I truly hope that all three consoles sell exceptionally well, since people enjoy each one It sucks as a gamer to put your heart into a console and see it die, much like my poor dreamcast Loved it to death and was sad to see it die before Powerstone 3 could see the light of day. But oh well, hopefully Capcom and Sega will bring around more of the awesome series to newer consoles I'd kill for a HD Skies of Arcadia on Wii U or Powerstone 3 in general.

@B3ND3R In general I believe that Japanese devs need to stick together with Nintendo because most of their games are stylized and not the "hyper realistic" stuff that sells well in the west. Attempts to make something western are met with financial failure too.

That and I feel that Sony became more of a western dev console/supported such a direction during the PS3 days and are only continuing it now. If only Ni no Kuni was released on the 3DS instead of PS, it might have done a lot better .

@Senario I feel the exact same way... Nintendo has it's own stylized art-style that just looks gorgeous, same with Sega and Capcom (used to at least). I was blown away when I popped in Super Mario Bros. U and saw all those gorgeous colors pop like they do. Sure the graphics are simple... but absolutely beautiful. They don't need realism to make their games look great, which has always been true to Japanese devs. Being a upcoming game dev myself (aiming for a job at Retro, but in the meantime am trying to do a little indie work), I want to make something in the graphical vein of Japanese games. Colorful, stylized, and all about fun instead of murder.

I also do agree that Sony has become more westernized lately, with focus on hyper-realism and gritty murder death kill slaughter games... It makes me sad Video games are supposed to help us escape the real world, not try to remind us of it.

Oh, and wasn't Ni No Kuni also in the works for DS in Japan?
EDIT: Just checked, and it was released only in Japan... Darn.

@jjmesa16 - It's funny, but I could recommend a PS3 almost solely on the strength of it's PS2 HD line-up. God of War, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, Kingdom Hearts, Ico and SotC, FFX. ZoE and DMC. Uncharted, inFamous and LBP are the only standout PS3 series that come to mind as I don't play FPS.

@rjejr I loved Ratchet and Clank. Probably one of my favorite games ever on the PS2 (I also like Burnout 3: Takedown). Never played any of the Kingdom Hearts even though I own the second one, which I haven't opened. I also was never really into FPS until my roommate in college had a PS3 and I played Black Ops, but even now FPS games are still not my favorite. I would like to own a early PS3 because of backwards compatability but those are hard to come by these days.

I have had my Wii U since June and because I was enjoying it so much, I cancelled my PS4 preorder. I have a PS3 with about 150 games on it. I honestly have to say that I just get more gaming enjoyment out of my Wii U more than I ever really got out of my PS3. Sure I enjoyed Resistance, Uncharted, and Killzone but they dont satisfy as much in terms play mechanics. Nintendo games, such as Mario games, have great play mechanics ... you learn those mechanics and when you pull off a string of moves under great pressure either from the clock or the enemies you face, or use those mechanics to uncover something hidden ... it gives you great joy and a big sense of accomplishment. Interestingly enough, I only feel compelled to 100% Nintendo games ... I never felt a desire to do that for any game on PS3. Nintendo games also make me smile or laugh more. I am sure I'll pick up a PS4 a few years from now, unless of course, Nintendo decides to make their own new IP FPSs, then I will never have a need for a PS4!

That's pretty hard for me to say so i would have gotten both ps4 and wiiu eventually as i already own them both except the xbox one for obvious reasons.

which has nothing to do with the games of course since theres nothing spectacular going on in any game on any system that seems like wow to me that i already would have seen before because it could of been program to be played without so nothing innovated about it.

This doesn't have to do with the article but I was just watching The Sound of Music Live on NBC in America and I was surprised to see the only commercial for Wii U I've seen in 7 months. And it's pretty awesome that it was shown during the play version of "the most beloved family film of all time!" With a lot of families watching it across America, that's very good exposure for the console! Also I saw a Walmart ad with Disney Infinity for Wii U advertised at the end.

@RETROBLASTSame here about the 100% completion thing. PS and Xbox have achievements that are ridiculous sometimes, so now there's a bar saying the game isn't 100%. There are seriously achievements that require 1,000,000 headshots in online matchmaking. You would seriously have to play 3 hours a day for at least 2 years in order to unlock some of that stuff.

I would have to go with a Wii U this Christmas. It just feels like the the right time for me to get one. I'm looking forward to playing Super Mario 3D World, and future releases such as Bayonetta and Smash Bros. I still plan on getting an Xbox 1 later. Dead Rising 3 and Killer Instinct are two games I gotta play,and I'm sure there will be good 3rd party games that will probably not come to Wii U. Not really into the PS4 at the moment though.

I just think people forget the reason to own a console and play games and that is to have fun and enjoy being a gamer. I have been a gamer since the dawn of gaming and have owned just about everything ever made. Sony and MS execs have been saying this all year about the non-wow factor of next gen graphics. Still the nee HD twins are a big boost over current gen and eventually we will see some impressive games with improved grafx, but more importantly depth and features. WiiU is a niche machine and to me pretty slick and well concieved. It will get lots of good games in its life but Nintendo just isn't going to be a market leader. The system already has some very unique content like MH, Lego city, ZombieU, 2 mario game, Zelda WW, Pikman and W101. Add to that some solid more conventional games like 2 Batmans, AC3/4, COD, rayman, injustice, nfsmw, ans deus ex. Yet because of snubs by EA and 2K WiiU has almost no sports and little racing. So entire genres are missing and this makes it hard for WiiU to be the goto system for all needs or players. The problem is also many WiiU gamers don't care so no imcentive to bring certain genres to WiiU.....I think WiiU could do an awesome golf game with wiimote plus and gamepad both used....soocer, football, and baseball could all really do great things with the gamepad....I just hope in its life someone tries.

As many have similarly said, the reason way I love Nintendo so much is that not only do their games play well, but the worlds they create truly take you out of reality into fun, exotic places filled with memorable characters, imaginative locations, etc. etc. No one does it like Nintendo.

All Sony and Microsoft really go for is the hyper realistic, mostly gory, grim and gritty approach. Unless its downplayed or highly stylized (Red Steel 2, Goldeneye Wii, and Conduit 2 are great examples) I don't really go for those types of games.

Wow lots of posts. Honestly I try to look at it this way. If I want the system with the most 3rd party support, XbBONE and PS4 will definately be where it is at. If I want just great 1st person games that I just always seem to love, I'd go with Nintendo. I understand the draw of the PS4/XBONE, but those great 3rd party games just and their exclusives just don't really entice me.I'm sure I will get both systems eventually, but for now I am good with the WiiU and the 3DS that never leaves my side. Good article, and more importantly, good conversation/comment topic. Whatever you all play, I hope everyone has fun.

"so much for the promise of 60 FPS gaming being standard in the next gen."

Vast majority of Nintendo published Wii U titles are 60fps. They take it seriously. I admire that. I could never go back to the 30fps ghettos of Sony and Microsoft. And looks like the ps4 and xBone are keeping with that tradition. But it's the customers fault. They willingly accept it and fork over their cash.

Honestly I don't think the vast majority of Sony and Microsoft fanboys can even tell. They don't know any better because they been locked up inside that 30fps ghetto forever.

@Ronoh I have no doubt the ps4 will have more games. The Wii u will have more games that are popping off 9's and 10's in reviews... Just look at the 3DS. Every new month brings a new game for the 3ds and the reviews are 9's and above.

That ps4 and xBone will give a mountain of games that score 7's and 8's with a few 9's sprinkled in.

Go with ps4/xBone if you want quantity and I'll go with Nintendo to get the bulk of the quality.... But then again my PC will play all those third party games in a far higher visual fidelity than the ps4 could ever hope to do.

The very logic that I am an "idiot to just own a single console" is stupid.
Just because 3rd parties haven't got on the Wii U Band wagon yet, doesn't mean they won't.

@kupo
I was just thinking of Turok this morning. I don't know how he'd make a comeback.... TUROK: CROCODILE HUNTER@element187 Humans eyes can't tell the difference past 30fps (actually, it's about 24fps). It won't look any better. If a regular tv program is running at 60fps, it just looks weird.
I said it before, and I'll reiterate it again: Nintendo has more better exclusives than both the xnone and PS4.
The ads on TV are very misleading: "ONLY POSSIBLE ON XBOX ONE!" It that were true, then they must have used Xbox ones to make the game....@Doma
If you were talking about sports games (Including Mario and Sonic's Olympic games), I would agree with you. I honestly don't like the NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. series of games, and hope not to see another for a while, but I still enjoyed those games. NSMBU was a lot of fun.

I got to agree with the 60fps crowd. I didn't really think about it that much, but now that I'm more aware of it than I used to be, I can notice the difference compared to 30fps.

There's that every once in a great while in 30fps games where I can tell I just saw a repeat frame. 60fps guarantees you'll never see a repeat frame unless you're super human. Anything over 60fps is a complete overkill, though. There's no way you'll ever see anymore frames by an off chance than say, 33 frames, unless you're super human as I mentioned above

After Owning the Xbox 360 early in its launch I grew with it and its different phases. Once BF3 came out I was super excited to finally start playing, but this game made me start looking towards pc because the xbox seemed like it lacked a lot. Once I saw was the Xbox was missing and PC had.. I dived into PC gaming and haven't looked back twice. A "Next-Gen Console" can be replicated and be left behind in the dust with a good Rig.

I can't apply this to Nintendo though, they have always offered something different something Unique and fun..MY GOD Is it FUN!!! no matter how much money I put into a rig and how many games come out for it and how CHEAP they cost on steam sales or Origin, Humble bundle and all that good stuff.. No one can ever replace the magic that Nintendo has and delivers, year after year after year!

Well, the point of this article is pretty obvious, as the PS4 line-up is so far totally irrelevant and doesn't attract me at all. My plan is to maybe buy one in 2015, when i can do some catch-up and pick games games that are really my cup of tea...

Buying a brand new console is in fact never a good idea, and now i have given myself quite a simple rule: wait for at least 5 must-play games, and 5 should-play games... plus a first hardware price drop, added to a decent promo...

BUT, after one year on the market, i must say the WII U is still way off the mark TOO: one must-play title, Mario 3D world, and two should-play titles, W101 and Pikmin 3... and a console price still way too expensive for so few games...

So, my last "hardware remorse" was buying a 3DS on day one, with all that ambassador non-sense because of the early price drop, and even more remorse when 3DSXL was released not so long after it...

I'll never forgive Nintendo for that, even if now, i enjoy my 3DS anyway... and so, i have no fanboyism in me anymore: i don't want to pay full price for good games, i want to pay full price for excellent games, and i will wait to do so as long as it takes...

And i'm sorry, but Wii U will rely on 1st party alone, when PS4 will rely on many talented 1st and 3rd parties around the world, so chances are the PS4 will satisfy me way easier and faster, despite its lack of Nintendo greatness... lets' not forget that the PS+ deals are usually awesome, too: it helps and adds great value in the balance...

In fact, the only thing that could change my plan is an exceptionnally great new Zelda or Metroid, which could count as 2 or 3 must-play games on its own...

For this christmas, Wii U is clearly the best buy. With 2 mario games, pikmin, donkey kong comming soon and some of the multiplataforms avaliable, like Deus EX and Blacklist. You can enjoy your Wii U until next christmas, when the next generation should really kick in and you on't miss allthose amazing Nintendo exclusives.

I Loved the Killzone series but i think i an wait till the slimmer model comes out before i get a ps4 if ever it doesnt even look that much different then ps3 or wii u, granted this comes from a guy who still doesnt see a diff between bluray and dvd

The graphics are noticeably better, they're just nowhere near better enough to warrant a new console. You'd be better buying a gaming PC for £400 which would dump all over a PS4. Hook it up to your HDTV and then sync your PS3 pad to yor PC. Third party games in ABUNDANCE then an at a quality and framerate that would make you want to throw your PS4 in the bin.
Want to play console games in the true essence of console games????? Buy a Wii U. This has been clear since the day it launched and is slowly becoming clear now after the launch of the two new consoles.
Arguining about graphics is silly. I could go out as spend less money that you and literally pee all over your PS4 graphically with better games. Battlefield 4 on PS4 is a joke. My new cheaper hardware would make you look back at what's in your hands that you were boasting about in shame through teary eyes.
GAMES are what make a console not hardware. The Wii proved that in the first three years of its cycle. Graphically archaic but offered genuinely new experiences that were well made and well executed, meanwhile I was offered GTA IV, Gran Turismo 5, Devil May Cry 4 endless sequels blah blah blah, that looked nice but were principley te same game again and again and again, GTA IV was lauded around like a graphical prostitute with its scale and detail, then people played it and realised that it was ultimate turd.
Games on a games console please.
NOT an idiots dumbed down version of a PC.
The PS4 will fail due to its bad architecture resulting in ridiculous loading times, they have put the "grunt" in the wrong place and it suffers for the trade off. The new consoles have had a flashbang opening week with the normal fanboys buying on day one, like with any console, and already the feedback is negative. Every bodies cards are now on the table and I think the next 13 months will be very very interesting

I bought a PS4 because I enjoy sports games too. I have owned a wii u since launch. I wanted it to be my only console for this gen, but the lack of third party support has drove my to having two consoles. Damn, I wish nintendo would have made the wii u with more raw power to attract 3rd parties. Can you imagine all your gaming needs on one NIntendo console. I can only dream.

The best console and the biggest leap from its predecessor in the latest generation has to be the 3DS ... but in regards to the big three home consoles the wiiU does seem to be the one to offer a bigger improvement over the other two. PS4 and XBone doesn't have any titles that make me want to splash out that much cash at the moment and I think it will be at least a year and a few price drops before I consider one or the other, and this coming from a MASSIVE fan of the Dead Rising series. Dead Rising 3 is great but not worth shelling out so much cash for.Gone are the days you can get everything you want from one company, I myself had the wii as my main last gen with a 360 to cover the rest of my needs, and it looks as though this gen its going to be the wiiU... backed up once again with the 360, at least until PS4 or the XBone can convince me otherwise.

@element187 I'm personally not concerned about the quantity of titles that are released for PS4 or XB1 compared to the Wii-U. Regardless of what comes out on consoles, I spend the vast majority of my time on my 3DS (over 100 games retail and download). My point was that there are a lot of franchises that sell millions of copies just like Mario and Zelda do that will not be coming to the Wii-U. There's no reason to believe these franchises won't continue to sell a ton of copies when new games are released on PS4 or XB1. This may be a deciding factor for many gamers when deciding what system to purchase. It happened in the last generation and it's already happening now as seen by the sales of the PS4 and XB1 despite the Wii-U games having higher review scores on average. Just as easily as we reading this website can say that Mario Kart 8 is a must have title, there's a lot of people out there that can say Titanfall and Uncharted and Madden are must have titles and there are more people like that and more titles like those coming out for the other boxes than there are for the Wii-U in the foreseeable future.

So again, personally, I'll get a PS4 for some games that aren't going to be released on the Wii-U, like Kingdom Hearts as I already have all the games in that franchise, and I'll buy games that interest me that are released on the Wii-U like Mario Kart.

But let's be clear, we are going to be in the minority this console generation for a variety of reasons, most of which are self-inflicted like the lack of first party support during the first year, but one of which is lack of 3rd party support. My hope is that Nintendo throws a lot of cash at some of these high profile 3rd party development studios. This may or may not matter to some people that simply read websites like this but it matters to parents with kids who want to be as cool as their friends and older brother who play on PS4 and XB1 and it matters to retailers who have the ultimate say in whether to stock Wii-U hardware and software that they perceive to "take up space" compared to the competition if that competition continues to sell at an increasingly higher rate and earn them money at an increasingly higher rate. Retail availability would in turn affect sales which affects publisher decisions to port to Wii-U in the first place and thus the cycle repeats. It sucks but it is what it is.

I hope the situation improves for the Wii-U but I'm not blind to it's faults and disadvantages.

I can't give an informed opinion because I haven't played either PS4 or Xbox One yet, but I do feel like it's clear that with any launch console, visuals will upgrade and improve over time as more games are released. The best example I can give involves two Elder Scrolls titles--Oblivion and Skyrim. Oblivion released relatively early into the PS3/360's console lifespans, and that looks awfully mediocre compared to Skyrim, which released in 2011. Five years gave developers a better chance for a huge graphical leap.

But either way, I too can't think of a better console option this ho0liday than Wii U. It's the cheapest, it has more games than the competing new consoles, and even though it may not be as powerful Wii U still pumps out gorgeous visuals when the time calls for them. For example, Pikmin 3 is probably the most graphically gorgeous game I've played all year on Wii U (at least until I finally play Super Mario 3D World)

@Williaint are you telling me you can't notice the difference? It's like night and day?
This link provides a great live comparison.... I never noticed it as a Sony gamer until I upgraded to PC last gen. I will never go back to that ghetto.

@JaxonH I've actually been told that the Wii U is more powerful than the XboxOne (the guy was a total idiot obviously).

The graphics aren't gonna look very good yet for a few reason. 1. Many of the PS4/Xbone games are just ports. Why doesn't Arkham City Wii U look waaay better than on PS3? Well duh, it's a port. The other reason is they're launch titles. They'll get better, as will the Wii U's graphics.

Gameplay > Graphics obviously, but the PS4 has lived up to it's promises IMO. The reason power is so important isn't just because of shiny graphics, it's because of better AI, larger game worlds, etc. Even if what you're saying is accurate and the PS4 is only marginally more powerful (a blatantly false fact, it has 16x the RAM the ps3 did.), it is at least as good as the Wii U. (If what you say is true) Then the PS4 didn't deliver, it under delivered but still did better than the Wii U. Let's say 2 kids take a test. One says "Yeah, I'm gonna score a 70." and the other says "Oh, this'll be easy. I could get a 100 in my sleep.", and when they come back the first child gets his 70 and the other gets a 90. The second one is still smarter, just not by as much as he promised.

You know the more and more I hear about the ps4 I'm really starting not to even look forward to it as much hell I might not even get it now. I'm gonna wait and see but the more I keep hearing micro transactions the more I'm hating the future of video games the head of Sony is now actually defending micro transactions and if that's the way they are headed I won't be a part of it

@SCAR392@Williaint I get the repeated often claim that the human eye can't tell the difference past 24 fps all the time. They are misreading that study.,... What it really says before being twisted by people is the human eye needs 24 fps at the bare minimum to be fooled that something is being animated. It never says the human eye cannot distinguish past 24fps

I challenge anyone to look at the link and tell me they can't see a difference between 60fps and 30fps. You are straight up lying if you can't see the difference..., need a better example? Watch the opening trailer for SM3DW on YouTube. Then start the game start a new file and compare it to the animation on the actual game.

Completely pointless. Sorry, this article is terrible. Do I need to play selectively play some random underwhelming games on Wii U or 3DS and come back and say how unimpressed I was and would stick to my PSVita with actual new innovative gameplay (which Nintendo fans talk some much about) found in Tearaway. Or say how PS3 a 'last-gen system' gave me better experiences than Wii U?

Just stop it, I'm sure most people with a Wii U here are happy and don't need to worry.

You really don't need to post these completely pointless, fanboyistic articles catering to its audience "and say it's fine guys, keep your Wii U's!!! PS4 is not that great it's only lame fps with unimpressive graphics!!!" to fuel the ignorancy of your fanbase.

Jesus, don't attach yourself to a brand, open your mind... Give the next-gen console some time, don't make foolish comparisons...

I guess this is where I'm leaving Nintendolife.

Sorry but this article is clearly biased, even if you claim it's not biased. Then you're inconsciously being biased.

I'm getting PS4 and Wii U this gen, but reading how desperate this almost PR-like article sounds I might just stick with the PS4.

@LDXD@Ronoh A few sites keep saying they have exclusive news or have heard rumour of a sequel but Studio Ghibli (who own half the rights of the game) made it clear years ago it was a one off, like their films. No sequels, each alone from itself. They agreed to have two different versions (DS and PS3) but that's it.

@Damo big respect for not being a MS/Sony apologist like 95% of the gaming press.

I don't think the specs are capable of much greater fidelity than what has been achieved this generation but I'd like to think the increased power will open up new gameplay possibilities. The problem isn't even the lack of power it's the time it will take devs to make games that fully utilise the tech. There isn't enough time for most devs to do it and we'll just end up with identikit games because everyone will be building AAA games from the same assets or taking years to build stuff from the ground up.

The PS4 reveal promised so much impossible stuff it was ridiculous but the gaming press lapped it up and validated claims that can only be considered blatant lies from Sony. I'm still waiting for games that look as good as the PS3 reveal demos. I wouldn't mind the gaming press being so excited about the potential of the new products but they're the same people who have been bashing the Wii U while reading from scripts all year.

No one should buy a console at launch, because it takes about a year before it starts to hit its stride and has many of the technical issues/glitches bedded out. As shown by the PS4 and XB One, lots of people still do though. And oh, it's been about a year since the Wii U came out and look... now more classic games are starting to emerge...

@SCAR392 You actually have about a month or so to claim PS+ games. You don't even need to be on your console to claim them if you have access to the online store on a PC or phone.

As for the article, I too would grab a Wiiu, but the stupidly small amount of storage included, the price, and the lack of account-based download purchases make me question why nintendo hasn't fixed these problems yet. That plus the fact that I've seen more variety out of PS franchises lately made me decide to get PS3/4/Vita recently. I'll just wait until the new WiiU Zelda and SSB are out until I even think about getting a Wiiu.

There is potentially a lot of bias in this article, lets not kid ourselves. What fascinates me however, is how in reading these comments most people subtlety express an opinion along the lines of Nintendo standing aside and letting Microsoft vs Sony.

Either this is genius from Nintendo to stand aside and do its own thing, or everyone has kind of taken on the hidden view of the article.... that Nintendo is separate from the other consoles. I think it is more the former, since many do not even consider the Wii U to be in the current gen, which means Sony/MS will battle over market share, while Nintendo will maintain its own little niche market. At the end of the day I think Nintendo is doing as well as it could have this generation and by not trying to go head to head has ensured its longevity as a console producing company. Also, it supports their not making games for mobile devices.

While I'm sure Iwata will lose his job in the next 2 years, I think he has pretty much done everything right. People are expecting miracles, but the console industry has never been more competitive.

@kokirii That's why I can buy an internal 1tb or more to put in a PS4 (which I may consider doing around christmas time). The point is that even considering the current price of a Wiiu, I shouldn't have to deal with such a small amount of internal wiiu storage at all. It's almost 2014 and Ninty's yet to release a system that supports even 100gb out of the box.

@irken004 I am just looking at it from a different angle. You're billing the small internal storage as a failure of Nintendo to be with "the times" (as defined by you) rather than realizing that it's a conscious choice that allows people the choice to add more storage if they WANT (and still keeping the total price point below the other consoles) while keeping the price down to allow entry for more people/families who don't need more than 32 GB of space, which is the case for many people who don't want/can't afford to pay the extra money for 500 GB up front.

@kokirii A fair point, which is true! I always thought that nintendo should have kept the idea of two versions, one with low storage for the past casual wii owners and one with way more storage for the "hardcore" or those who wanted to go download-only with it. but I don't see wiiu's current options as appealing to the "hardcore" audience. The biggest issue I have is that the download aren't account-based. I've had tons of games downloaded on the Wii, so when I had to send it in for disc-reader repair I heard stories that all those downloads could get wiped completely away. Luckily my downloads were safe, but again it shouldn't be a worry nowadays.

Also I simply don't see too many WiiU games I want currently, other than Super Mario World and Monster Hunter. And even when SSB comes out, I may end up getting a 3DS for that instead of WiiU. It makes me wonder if the 3DS version will gimp the sales of the WiiU version

I think Need For Speed: Rivals looks INSANELY fun. Granted, I've yet to even see a PlayStation 4 console in actuality - much less play one - so I can't really be one to judge just yet.

Also, I thank you for sharing your Xbox website. Though Microsoft is probably my least favorite of the "the three big ones", it's nice to know you guys have all three companies covered in individual sites. I really enjoy all of your articles.

I have a PS3. I do like it, but the fact that I have no desire to get a PS4 or any kind of Xbox, but have owned every major Nintendo console from GBC onwards shows where I feel the real quality gaming is. To me, Nintendo games are just more fun. The only thing I lament is that more FF and Tales games stay on Playstation than get ported to Nintendo, but they're really the only two series I love on Playstation. Nintendo has at least a dozen series I adore. And I actually own more Tales and FF games on Nintendo colsoles than my PS.

@element187I know people can see more than 30fps. I've seen it myself. If you look at Dead Risisng 3, you can tell you're not seeing everything that's going on in the game. I still say anything over 60fps is an over kill, though. You might be able to tell that there are more frames with 120fps, but you'll never actually see said frames and realize.

@irk004HDD space is definitely not an issue. Ext. HDDs are at any stores that sell Wii Us in the first place. They're at most 3-4 aisles over. If people want an HDD, they shouldn't be complaining that one isn't included. It ultimately reflects back on the price. With the $50 price cut, people could be spending $50 for an ext. HDD and still be getting all of their money's worth.

As for the PS+ thing, it doesn't matter either way. The main flaw to PS+ is that they're charging you to rent games until your subscription expires. PS+ made absolutely no sense on PS3, seeing as it was optional and didn't let you keep anything. They were probably trying to get people used to the service before it was required on PS4. You have to spend more than as much as you paid for the subscription to get your money's worth. Then the whole situation would be reliant on what games they give you disvounts on. All I got to say about PS+, is that it makes a hell of alot more sense on PS4 than PS3.

Anybody who can't tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps needs to get their mother brain checked.lol And even more so if they don't notice motion blur on an LCD/LED vs a CRT(blur-free) or even plasma. for ex, Super Mario 3D World runs in 60fps, play that for a bit THEN go fire up super Mario 3D Land which runs in 30fps. SM3D Land right off the bat irked me with it's step down frame rate, i was so accustomed to 60fps from Super Mario Galaxy and the majority of other Nintendo developed games! 30fps & Motion blur(a giant drawback with all LCD's and LED's) need to finally be extinct.

I'm just Blown away that the PS4 & One haven't made 60fps and 1080p standard for all of their games. It's total BS, it's bad enough neither are offering any new hardware innovations(The 'after thought' Kinect 2 & the ps3 move will hardly be used and you all know it.)

Look at Dead Rising 3....runs in 720p, 30fps and looks nearly identicle to a PS3/XBOX 360 game....But oh look! There are now 10x as much zombies on screen now! Am i supposed to be dazzled? in 1080p, running in 60fps with a next gen visuals it would of been, but this is just ridiculous. The characters in the cutscenes should of been how they looked 'in-game'

@Cyrso 1. I agree with you on some points, but not all. Reassurance articles/comments/threads/etc are all not the best thing for sites to be doing atm (no offense to NLife or any of it's staff. This is one of my favorite sites to visit ) because by doing so, it creates rivalry and is demeaning to the other consoles, and everyone comes out completely biased.2. You don't have to be quite so harsh.

@CountWavula It's not just the consoles...it's the devs as well. Both XB1 and PS4 can run 1080p, 60fps. Not making excuses for them (Sony and Microsoft), just saying they could. Killzone runs in 1080p natively at 60 fps. I know that for a fact. It's impressive that Nintendo can do this ALL the time, versus some of the time. However, that notion can be argued.

Eh, I don't really care as much about the games coming to PS4 or XBone as I thought I would. To be fair, it's probably because I owned all three major consoles last gen and still have a huge back log that I don't want to add to and I don't really care enough about most third party games to buy either Non-Nintendo consoles right now. Of course, things could change, but that's my opinion today.

@SCAR392 I stand corrected. What's even worse is that it doesn't even reach 60fps all the time for multiplayer. In the 50's and even dropping to the high 30's at some points. Disappointing for Sony fans that was promised 60fps.

@RafieOne dev in particular said that they sacrificed the frame count in order to get a few more particle effects and some better textures. They can run it at 60fps, no doubt, they just don't know how to yet. The same goes for every system. Dead Rising 3 could be 60fps at 1080p on Xbox One or CoD Ghosts on Wii U could be 1080p. Again, they just don't know how to do this stuff, yet.

nah, i'm not interested in ps4 or X-one yet.If Nintendo goes al out, they can sell big time, but they cant afford to screw up.They need to bring their big sellers.But also old games which need to be revived, like earthbound for the WiiU, and if Nintendo brings pokemon for Wii U they can attract a lot of Pokemon fans to the WiiU.And when smashbros/mario kart comes out they will sell big time.They also should bring back Metroid prime with an awesome online play.Starfox with (online) Multiplayer/Co-op.I hope that in the future an Kid-icarus game will appear on WiiU.I also hope that there will be some strategy war games arrive on the wiiU, the Controller is perfect for those games.Games like the sims, sim city etc.Games like Harvest moon.Golden sun etc. F-zero. A 3D Donkey kong game like DK64.And maybe some cross adventure games like, mario Luigi, together with Donkey kong.I miss the story line from Mario Sunshine, the cutscene story telling i loved that in mario Sunshine.

I have my gaming PC for all my third party needs and for the Kids and my wife and I we use the Wii and WiiU. I like the PS and Xbox exclusives, PS a little more, but do not like them enough to buy a PS4 and Xbone. When I finish playing all the 360 and PS3 games I have never even played yet then I will consider them.I bought the WiiU day one and looking back would have waited until Lego City came out as that was the first game I really got into.

Other than some misguided 'gamer cred', fanboy hysteria and that 'new console' smell, there isn't any reasonable, credible or logical reason to pick up an XBOX One OR a PS4 for at LEAST a good 6 months to a year. By all means, if you can afford it, go ahead. But for most gamers and families, the Wii U is by far the best system to own... bare minimum for the short term.

The Wii U's launch titles bury the review scores of the new system's titles, and the current and future crop of Nintendo games seal the deal. Having played Mario Kart 8 and the new Donkey Kong, I can tell you right now that Nintendo will own my gaming dollars for the foreseeable future. I still have to finish Pikmin 3 and it's DLC, Mario 3D World, Windwaker HD, Rayman legends... I'm going to be busy this holiday break.

*And that's not factoring in the next Zelda title, Smash Bros, X, Bayonetta 2, and the Mario Galaxy game you just KNOW is waiting in the wings (and has been hinted at).

Add to that a new IP for Miyamoto san, and amazing games on the 3DS and I really don't have the time to flip between systems this year. And honestly, I wouldn't need to.

Knowing that even with middling support and resources dedicated to Wii U ports, most of the games look better - and in some cases play better - and offer off-screen/Gamepad functions play as well (eats up processing power), I feel really good about the system's power, especially since there are more 1080p titles on the Wii U right now than I believe are on both supposedly next gen systems combined. And for every lazy port that someone holds up as proof of the Wii U's lack of power, there's a developer doing it right and making these companies look like the greedy, lazy opportunists they are.

The bottom line is, the Wii U has proven time and time again since launch that it is more than capable of 'next gen' graphics. Some honest developers have come forward to reinforce the system's power in the face of criticism by corporate shills making excuses for poor ports or lack of support. It also has in stores and in the very near future a line-up of AAA titles that the other guys can only envy.

I have owned every system since the Sega Genesis - many on launch day - and have gone back and collected those that I missed. I LOVE gaming, and good games come on every system. I just think that it's way too soon for the new kids on the block, and that owning both is redundant and foolish. There aren't enough exclusive IPs on either to warrant owning both.

@element187Yes, it will look more smooth — especially if you use blur. When I'm animating something, even at 30fps, it's often more effective to NOT animate every frame. If something that's supposed to be running at 30fps runs at 60fps it will look a bit weird. If you want to shoot something in slow motion, then recording 6000+fps is a good plan. You can see the difference, then. Thanks for the link.

@Rafie 3D World is upscaled 720p/60fps. (It is a better choice if the alternative is having a variable framerate). They don't do it all the time (See 3D Land / NSMB2 that really needed it but rather than wait until they could do it they released it anyway). There is enough power for them to do 1080p but I think they will go for more pointless effects and 30fps instead of the important thing which is a totally stable vsynced 60fps.

@Peach64 "That's like saying movies won't move forward creatively unless we change the way we control our DVD players."It's not though, is it? Movies are passive, the DVD remote is irrelevant to the experience. You wouldn't be making such a laboured analogy if Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft/whoever had just sold you a holodeck.

nice points in this article. I'm starting to sway back towards a WiiU once I have some free money again. I think the ps4 will be really cool eventually but I'll wait. It's a little like the jump from DVD to Blu-ray. This gen (not wii) is so great already theres not much they can do to really impress yet so the WiiU tactic might have a fighting chance after all. I'm still having a blast with ps3 and Xbox 360 I can't see any reason to upgrade until they really stop supporting those, who cares about extra smoke and particles? When they stop being cross platform we'll start to see real jumps in AI and stuff and it'll be super cool then. As far as WiiU I may just have to get one for the unique N software at least even if it means getting a ps4 for the big triple A stuff in a year that will surely be nicer looking there.

@SkywardLink98 an excellent analogy, and I agree with everything you just said. I was merely speculating why so many haven't been impressed. Agreed, a 90 is better than a 70, but you said it yourself, if a person was expecting 100 and extra credit, 90 is a bit of a letdown.

Not saying I regret buying one cause I don't. I'm just not currently receiving any entertainment on behalf of the console. Butt that's totally ok, I knew that would be the case when I bought it, as I also knew that would change within a year or so

@SkywardLink98 an excellent analogy, and I agree with everything you just said. I was merely speculating why so many haven't been impressed. Agreed, a 90 is better than a 70, but you said it yourself, if a person was expecting 100 and extra credit, 90 is a bit of a letdown.

Not saying I regret buying one cause I don't. I'm just not currently receiving any entertainment on behalf of the console. Butt that's totally ok, I knew that would be the case when I bought it, as I also knew that would change within a year or so

Come on 400 posts. Well done Nintendo life for writing articles that generate such quality discussion. Well done indeed!

Hardly any flame wars or trolling, just (mostly) intelligent conversation with people respecting one another views and well constructed arguments. I guess the Nintendo life readership should also be congratulated. Partly why I found this site when Wii VC started and never looked anywhere else for my Nintendo news.

Wow, just wow. Waaay too many people/comments to react to but some definitely have a point. I can just give my two cents and that is that where the other two can make great looking games that can be cool, bad @ss, amusing and to an extent fun, Nintendo nearly ALWAYS makes me crack a genuine smile that goes from ear to ear whenever I start up one of their games. I think that there is indeed something magical about them that adds to the whole experience. It's almost like fairy tales, taking you away from reality for a moment. Nintendo games truly are the epitomy of FUN, and the fact that they are now coming to us in HD is only the extra icing on the cake with the cherry on top. I tried to discuss this with a friend of mine once, but he argued that he can have just as much 'fun' and can have just as big a smile when making 10 successive head shots. If you agree with my friend, then you clearly don't get the point I'm trying to make. It's called 'the Nintendo difference' for a reason.
Yes, the other two consoles can more than likely do great things and the larger horsepower will allow for much more than shinier graphics, but it's all up to where your preference lies or where your bank account is at. I have a fairly healthy pay check but I also have a few real world priorities that don't always include buying all of the newest consoles the minute they are in stores. Last time I bought the Wii and the Xbox360 so I could get a bit of both worlds, and I also still game on my Dreamcast, but currently I'm sticking to my 3DS XL, so I haven't bought any of the new machines yet. Maybe later, when more good games will arrive, but we'll see. Wii U will come first, though.
For me, any of the new HD twins will always be second choice, because of the fun I want to have playing games, and Nintendo offers that to me, but that doesn't mean that you're an @ss if you like any of the other two (or both) better. That being said, some of you really need to cool down, it's not a war it's about a preference for games aka A HOBBY, nothing to chew each others head off for...
Maybe I can give some of you a little smile on your faces too by repeating something that I've said some 100-ish articles before, when all this 8th gen war malarkey started:'The console wars are like boobs. Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
Think about that every time you threaten to be sucked into another useless console defending discussion...@Rafie@Williaint Here's a little additional info to help along the fact that even back in the 16 bit days specs weren't everything and surely didn't decide the final outcome. Rafie was right in his comment to say that the SNES did indeed look better. Why? While the processor of the Genesis was the more powerful one, the SNES was able to show more colors (256 on screen out of 32768, compared to 64 on screen out of 512 for the Genesis), and had more advanced sound capabilities (Thanks to a special chip from Sony, no less) and more memory. What it means is that while the Genesis was able to put more action on screen, the SNES looked better and also sounded better most of the time. For me personally both the sound of the 8bit and 16bit Sega machines sounded a bit tinny, like coming out of a can. But that too, like the current gen/next gen is partially based on preference.

All in all another great article to rack up the comment section score.
I wish it was just back to Nintendo vs Sega again. Also console wars yes, but nowadays it seems to get worse by the day with some people...

People, enjoy your current (or new) consoles and at least try to be civil to one another. Written text is already very open to interpretation, so some of you need to think before you type, and sometimes you will just have to agree to disagree. You're not going to convince someone that has already made up his mind, only someone that is open to suggestions. Peace out...

I just finished reading every comment and my eyes are about to fall out.With that being said, I would like to add my own insight to this subject matter.

I noticed that some people believe this is an inappropriate time to compare these consoles. The Wii U has been out for about a year now and the PS4 only came out recently. Yes that is true, however, the Wii U was released first so developers had less time to create the Wii U than the makers of PS4 did. Now that I mention it, Nintendo has been the first in many things. They created the first hand-held color game, the Gameboy Color; maybe even the first hand-held console being Gameboy? Obviously also first 3D console 3ds and I think wii was first motion control Console... Well you get the idea. Nintendo is able to provide these new features much more quickly than any other company and I think that they deserve some applause for that clapclap. Not only do they provide these consoles quicker but I think they are better in general. Perhaps I am wrong on this, being it is just my opinion, but I got the xbox 360 and the wii and the playstation 2. I know they are not in the same time release area... thing.... but just by comparing these I feel like when I first opened the Wii and played for the first time there was that spark of- perhaps excitement is the best word. With the other consoles that spark was not really there, or at least it wasn't that strong. I think Nintendo is superior in the matter that they really attract consumers of games with the first time they play. This opinion may or may not be due to my history of buying Nintendo games for a long time but Microsoft and sony have not really been around as long as Nintendo.

The PS4 and Xbox One seem pretty underwhelming to me at the moment. There's obviously a slight bump in terms of graphics, but nothing that has wowed me yet.

I do expect to buy one in 2015 (most likely a PS4 for Sony's exclusives), but they'll never be my main console as I don't want to pay for online and the games that interest me are more limited. If KH3 was to come out for the Wii U then I might wait even longer.

It mirrors my experience from last gen. My main console was the Wii because it had unique and fun games. I used my 360 and PS3 more for watching movies than gaming. As the PS4 and XBO offer the same things, I don't feel in any rush to pay $400 or $500 when my PS3/360 still play movies exactly the same.

So for me, the Wii U will provide almost everything I need. For the average gamer it probably won't though, as it lacks the yearly sports titles and souless FPS titles that the masses seem to flock to.

I completly agree with this article, PS4 really doesnt have any good games right now, resogun is my favorite and it could be a "Last Gen" game. I feel like there was way too much hype for these consoles. With Wii U's launch i spent hours playing through Zombi U and Nintendo Land, and I havent spent more than 12 hours since launch playing my PS4. I am super excited for Uncharted 4, and hopefully Imfamous Second Son will be good

I went into Asda the other day and so Fifa 14 on PS4. The graphical leap isn't that much better than Wii U. Plus the launch line up was very dismal. I don't get the PS4 hype train one bit. I'm going to stick with my Wii U and maybe pick up an Xbox One later down the line.

@Benjelo GBC was not the first colour handheld, the GB was not the first hanheld and Wii was not the first console with motion controls (it was the first to get them right though). Not trying to be mean but I think you should do some outside research before posting comments that contains a a lot of incorrect information.

@unrandomsam Oh I didn't know that. I thought it was 1080p. However, I could hardly tell the difference in that game anyway. It's so beautiful man! LOL I may have a bias with that particular game (Mario 3D World). I don't care what anyone says. That game right there deserves the attention it's getting plus more.

@TheRealThanos You know what....I totally had to sit back and think about your post from a fan of games point of view. I truly have to agree here. It does seem like Nintendo is the one that has been doing the quality stuff that has been able to innovate the best along the way. When new and more powerful machines come along that looks to blow away what Nintendo is currently doing, they (Nintendo) stick to their guns and provide those "smiles" and things as you said. Something you won't get on the other 2. Since I've been here, no one that I've seen on this site explained it the way you just did. Nintendo is like that old bakery that's been around for decades that everyone loves. As soon as 2 new bakeries that have in house seatings with machines that can put out 3 times that amount of baked goods than the old shop has seems more enticing. Also add on to the fact that they have 65 in LED tvs and teenagers to run the bakery makes it seem like it's the better deal. However, the old bakery shop has the rapport with the public and don't need all of those bells and whistles to make themselves more prominent. They're doing what they are doing and continue to make baked goods that is overall better than what the competition is doing. That's Nintendo! Thanks for that, Thanos. They still need help with the Wii U, but it's not doomed like everyone is saying it is. Not at all.

Nintendolife, I'm surprised you haven't thrown this article in the garbage bin yet.

I'm really disappointed in Nintendolife's contribution to entice foolish rivalry between the fans of each console and generating fanboy wars.

I'm really extremely disappointed. Really, I've last all my confidence in this site.

Pathetic.

Do I want to tell you how much wrong there is that article or does the author realise that he's just a biased fanboy after all?

I absolutely love Nintendo, heck I still consider Super Mario Galaxy my favourite game of last gen. But I like Playstation games like Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper etc and a lot of 3rd party games but this article is almost repelling it from the 'Nintendo community' and Nintendo themselves.

Do I need to tell you how primitive the Wii U's sluggish and atrociously slow OS felt, especially before the update?? Worse than previous-gen. Do I need to tell you how unimpressive the graphics were in most Wii U launch games and actually most Wii U games up to now, save Pikmin 3 and Super Mario 3D World? NSMBU was bland, ZombiU ugly, Nintendo Land, OK, but most of the other 3rd party games actually looked and performed worse than on PS3/X360. Looked at the Digital Foundry AC IV face-off. ACIV Wii U is concluded to be the worst version... Yes, worse than PS3 and X360, 7 years old console.

Funny you mention load times, lol, I guess you haven't played Lego City Undercover on Wii U?

The Wii U post-launch window was a disaster. Do I need the bring up the PS4/Xbox One launch window? War Thunder, Thief, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, inFamous Second Son, MLB 14: The Show, DriveClub, Daylight, Deep Down, Wolfenstein: The New Order.. And that's only a fraction of the Q1 2014 games.

But yay, let's selectively compare some of Wii U's best games (and this shows Wii U took 1 year to finally get some great games) to some of PS4's launch less impressive games, and worse let's compare them with games from genres to author simply does not like. Yay for games journalism...

Yay let's compare games within a 1-year old system's library with a 2 weeks-old system's library.

And I doubt Resogun would have been possible on PS3 at the same 1080p 60 fps with no sacrifice to the voxel technology and crazy particle effects either. And in fact most Wii U games would have been possible on previous-gen (apart from Wii obviously) too I think, purely from a technical standpoint. And I have yet to see a clever, useful of the Gamepad's implementation. Super Mario 3D Worlds, how amazing it is, would be perfectly playable with a normal controller too.

Incredibly disappointed with this fallacy of an article. I'm sure it's costing you members, Nintendolife and only polarizing even more the already pointless console wars.

Nice job, Nintendolife.

And yes I'm allowed to be critical, when someone writes articles like this only to create rivalry and to generate fanboy wars with his own bias and fallacy, he must be called out.

The whole downplaying of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and reassurance about Wii U sounds so desparate it's almost sad.

Articles like this will only further isolate Nintendo and its fanbase further and further away. Whatever. Still a lot of fun to be had, but still disappointing.

@Cyrso I'm getting increasingly irritated by the amount of people who don't fully understand that these aren't actual articles reporting on anything but are opinion pieces meant to spark conversation.

They're called "Soapbox" as an indicator that they aren't to be taken as literal evidence and factual must-follow journalism but opinions that the editors and writers for the site have. It's their moment to show bias and back it up with their opinions and whether you agree or not you discuss in the comments. Its the point. The authors alway make it obviously clear in what they write that its from personal opinion and belief.

For the lord's holy sake there is even a pole at the bottom of the article in which you're meant to take and view and discuss differing opinions. There's no need for you or others to get your knickers in a twister over NintendoLife and act like they're throwing a wrench in your face with flagrent fanboyism that taints all reporting they do because they have opinions from time to time and write them and allow open discussion. Calm down.

To be honest, I think all consoles are going to do well. The Wii U could still bounce back because of all of the games that they will be getting down the line. Hell, I was actually going to buy the Wii U just for Smash Bros alone, and on top of that, the Wii U will be getting X, Mario Kart and a new Zelda. All of these games have potential to be system sellers, and I really do hope that they are. With that being said, I'm still getting a Ps4 because I know for a fact that I will enjoy it more in the long run. The games out for it now is, without a doubt, mediocre, but once the developers get used to the system it's going to be amazing.

@Rafie Thanks for responding with your own analogy. The old bakery made me think about my grandpa's old ice cream and French fries truck. He made everything all by himself from scratch. It is indeed like the old bakery or coffee corner vs the mega-corporations (or at least how it is seen by a lot of people, they always see Nintendo as the smaller player)
It is one of the reasons that as a gamer you really should select multiple consoles, at least if you can afford it. Only way not to miss out on stuff...

@Excep7ional No his points instantly become invalid when they don't take into account this is an editorial. When you start a rant on the wrong premise, it can generally be disregarded out of hand. I disagree with many people on this site, often frequently, but don't feel the need to comment since it is their opinion. I don't care one iota about his opinions one way or the other, it irritates me that he acts like this is an article, not an editorial, which it is. We were laughing so much much because his rant is based on a false premise, that this is a normal article. Heck it says Soapbox at the top.

Lmao, yeah I agree. He shouldn't have went on a rampaging rant like that, but I don't think he understood. Probably just thought this was another article (editorial in this case) to try and throw dirt on the other consoles. Which I can kind of see why he thought that. As of late, people on this site have been straight up crapping on the other consoles just because.